The national teams of Portugal and the Czech Republic finished 2-1 in Leipzig in their opening Group F match at Euro 2024 , reported Sportal.bg.
Lukas Provod scored for the Czechs in the 62nd minute, and in the 69th minute Robin Hranac restored the tie with his own goal.
The first scoring opportunity opened up for Ronaldo, who in the 8th minute intercepted Leao's cross, but his header turned out to be inaccurate. Nine minutes later, Nuno Mendes shot from long range, but he too missed the target. In the 24th minute, Bruno Fernandes also sent a long-range shot, but after a ricochet he won only a corner. Shortly after, it was the midfielder who launched a pass into the penalty area, but Leao missed the ball and could not send it into the opponent's net.
In the 32nd minute, Fernandes with a wonderful pass brought Ronaldo alone against the goalkeeper, but Indrich Stanek came out and deflected his shot. Vitinia's addition followed, but the ball was caught by the keeper. Shortly after, the midfielder shot again, but his shot was blocked for a corner. In the 39th minute, Leao fell to the ground near the edge of the penalty area, but referee Marco Guida showed him a yellow card for simulation instead of calling a foul. Seconds before the break, Cristiano again failed to overcome Stanek, who knocked away his shot.
At the very beginning of the second half, Diogo Dalot shot from a long distance, but the ball went wide. In the 52nd minute, Bernardo Silva also made an unsuccessful attempt to sign off. Three minutes later, Ronaldo headed in but his shot was blocked for a corner. A little later, it was the attacker who took a direct free kick, where Stanek caught the ball.
9Euro 2024: Portugal - Czech Republic
That's how it came to the 62nd minute, when, contrary to what was happening on the field, the Czechs managed to take the lead with their first serious scoring opportunity. This happened with a technical kick by Provod from the arc of the penalty area.
However, the Portuguese quickly managed to restore parity as in the 69th minute Mendes shot and Stanek knocked the ball into the leg of his team-mate Hranac, after which it crossed the goal line to make it 1-1. In the 72nd minute, the goalkeeper saved a shot by Silva. In the 78th minute, Vitinia made a shot, which was, however, deflected by Stanek. Three minutes later, Tomasz Soucek shot, but the ball went wide.
In the 86th minute, the Portuguese decided they had scored a winning goal. Ronaldo then latched onto a cross with a header that bounced off the far post and substitute Diogo Jota headed in his add. However, the goal was disallowed as the VAR showed that Cristiano was in a thin ambush position.
However, this disallowed goal did not discourage Roberto Martinez's team, which still managed to reach the victory. It happened with a goal in stoppage time. Then Hranac stopped a cross in front of his own goal, but set the ball up for Chico Conceicao, who sent it into the net for the final 2:1.