Portugal came back from a goal down midway through the second half to beat Czechia 2-1 in Lepizig, Germany, on Tuesday, and round out the first set of group games at EURO 2024.
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The 90 minutes were a bit of a slog for the 2016 champions, who these days enter major tournaments in the conversation of favorites more so than dark horses or underdogs, but they got there in the end and sit 2nd in Group F after Turkey beat Georgia 3-1 earlier on Tuesday.
Czechia didn’t register their first shot on target until the 62nd minute, but Lukas Provod made sure to make it count. Vladimir Coufal recovered the ball down the right side of the penalty area and laid it off to Provod just outside the box, where he struck a smooth curler in stride. It was always tailing away from Diogo Costa, who laid out fully but could come nowhere close to making the save.
The lead lasted all of seven minutes, though, as Portugal made a double-change immediately, went on the offensive and scored twice in the final 20 minutes to stage a dramatic, slightly hectic comeback. The first goal came via own goal as Robin Hranac turned a spilled save into his own net. The second came in the 87th minute, or so they thought.
Vitinha floated a high cross to the far post for Cristiano Ronaldo to head back across the face of goal, only for it to hit the post and bounce back into play. Diogo Jota was standing in the perfect spot, though, and headed home the rebound. Alas, Ronaldo was marginally offside as the initial ball came in and the goal was ruled out.
Four minutes later, another second ball, another put-back. Only this time, it counted. Pedro Neto’s low cross to the near post was initially dealt with by a Czech defender, but the ball died just inside the six and sat up invitingly for Francisco Conceicao to crash the box. The 21-year-old slotted it under Jindrich Stanek and Portugal had escaped their EURO 2024 opener with all three points.
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Portugal vs Czechia player ratings
Portugal vs Czechia highlights, updates, final score: 2-1
Goalscorers: Lukas Provod (62'), Robin Hranac (69' - OG), Francsico Conceicao (90'+2)
GOAL - Francisco Conceicao pounces, slots home the stoppage-time winner - Portugal 2-1 Czechia (90'+2)
PORTUGAL TAKES THE LEAD!!! 🤯🇵🇹
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 18, 2024
Francisco Conceição with the absolutely CLUTCH goal! pic.twitter.com/RhdQ1CmALd
OFFSIDE - Diogo Jota scores but Cristiano Ronaldo offside in the build-up
After a VAR check, Portugal's goal was disallowed pic.twitter.com/eKNWwdRDet
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 18, 2024
OWN GOAL - Robin Hranac puts the ball in his own net - Portugal 1-1 Czechia (69')
AN OWN GOAL TO LEVEL THE SCORE 😱
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 18, 2024
Czechia's lead only lasted for 7 minutes before the ball found the back of the net for Portugal 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/FJUUdJTtmI
GOAL - Lukas Provod guides a curler through traffic - Portugal 0-1 Czechia (62')
CZECHIA TAKES THE LEAD OVER PORTUGAL!!! 😱🇨🇿
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 18, 2024
Lukáš Provod with the goal!!! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/wblVo9Ulqx
Portugal starting lineup
Costa — Dalot, Pepe, Dias, Mendes — Vitinha, Fernandes, Silva — Cancelo, Ronaldo, Leao
Czechia starting lineup
Stanek — Holes, Hranac, Krejci — Soucek, Sulc, Provod, Coufal, Doudera — Kuchta, Schick
How to watch Portugal vs Czechia, stream link and start time
Kick off: 3pm ET, Tuesday (June 18)
Stadium: Leipzig Stadium
How to watch on TV in USA: Fox Sports
Portugal team news, focus
There is so much quality in this Portugal side that it is hard to tell if Cristiano Ronaldo will start up top. But he probably will in what will be his sixth European Championships. With Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Rafael Leao, Diogo Jota, Goncalo Ramos, Joao Felix and Pedro Neto in the attacking areas, this Portugal side can blow teams away. In defense they have a few issues with veteran center back Pepe still going strong at the age of 41 and Ruben Dias coming off an okay season at Manchester City and a few question marks around their goalkeepers. But in theory, Portugal’s starting lineup and first three players off the bench are perhaps the strongest in the tournament.
Czechia team news, focus
Tomas Soucek captains Czechia and West Ham’s midfield destroyer is the heartbeat of this team. Patrik Schick is the main man up top and had a great season with Bayer Leverkusen and this Czech side are more than capable of beating Portugal and it wouldn’t be much of an upset.
Portugal vs Czechia prediction
On paper this should be an easy Portugal win but Bruno Fernandes and Co. may struggle to break Czechia down. Expect a win for Portugal but a tight one. Portugal 2-1 Czechia.