Francisco Conceicao netted an injury-time winner as Portugal came from behind to beat Czech Republic 2-1 in Leipzig at Euro 2024.
Conceicao struck a 92nd minute winner from a deflected cutback pass by fellow substitute, Pedro Neto in a dramatic finish.
Lukas Provod initially curled Czech Republic into a 62nd minute lead after he picked up Vladimir Coufal’s pass from a poor clearance.
Robin Hranac however gifted Portugal a 69th minute equaliser after he deflected Czech goalkeeper – Jindrich Stanek’s blockage into his own net.
Portugal will next face Turkey who sit top of Group F – having beaten Georgia 3-1 earlier in the evening – on Saturday 20 June at 6pm CEST, whilst Czech Republic take on Georgia at 3pm CEST on that same date.
Arriving at this tournament as a strong title contender, Portugal endured a slow start as forward, Cristiano Ronaldo started in a record sixth European Championship tournament for the 39 year-old.
Ronaldo however was the first player to mount a decent chance on target as he nodded Rafael Leao’s eighth minute cross wide.
Czech Republic however proved tricky to break down as Bruno Fernandes fired wide from 35 yards in the 24th minute, before he fed Leao forward two minutes later but the forward fired wide on his left foot.
Portugal eventually finished the goalless first half on top but could of gone ahead in the 32nd minute as Fernandes played Ronaldo through, but Stanek blocked his shot then saved Vitinha’s curled effort towards the bottom-right corner.
The second half began just like the first half ended with Portugal on top but unable to break down the Czech’s defence.
Their struggles soon came to haunt them in the 62nd minute as they struggled to clear a cross which fell for Coufal, who teed up Provod to curl into the far-left corner to put the Czech Republic into a shock lead.
Portugal however got lucky with an 69th minute equaliser as Stanek blocked Nuno Mendes’ header, yet Hranac was slow to react and the ball deflected off his leg into his own net.
Bernardo Silva almost completed Portugal’s comeback in the 72nd minute but his shot hit Stanek on the head and rebounded away from goal.
Czech Republic almost created their own match winner in the 81st minute as substitute, Antonin Barak’s shot was blocked but Tomas Soucek fired wide on the rebound.
Portugal looked to had eventually found a 87th minute winner as Ronaldo nodded a cross onto the far-right post, with Jota nodding in on the rebound which sparked wild celebrations.
Video Assistant Referee however disallowed the goal because Ronaldo had been marginally offside when he met the cross.
Two late substitutes however delivered redemption for Portugal following the offside decision as Conceicao picked up Neto’s deflected cutback pass and rifled in a 92nd minute winner on his competitive debut.
Elsewhere, Turkey sit top of Group F after Arda Guler and Kerem Akturkoglu netted second-half goals in a 3-1 win over debutants – Georgia, whose debut goal came from Georges Mikautadze to cancel out Mert Muldur’s opening goal.
Teams
Portugal – Diogo Costa, Diogo Dalot (Inacio 63′), Pepe, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo (Semedo 90′), Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha (Conceicao 90′), Nuno Mendes (Neto 90′), Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Leao (Jota 63′)
Substitutes: Rui Patricio, Jose Sa, Nelson Semedo, Joao Palhinha, Goncalo Ramos, Joao Felix, Danilo, Goncalo, Inacio, Joao Neves, Matheus Nunes, Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota, Antonio Silva, Pedro Neto, Francisco Conceicao
Czech Republic – Jindrich Stanek, Tomas Holes, Robin Hranac, Ladislav Krejci, Vladimir Coufal, Pavel Suic (Sevcik 79′), Tomas Soucek, Lukas Provod (Barak 79′), David Doudera, Patrik Schick (Chytil 61′), Jan Kuchta (Lingr 60′)
Substitutes: Matej Kovar, Vitezslav Jaros, David Zima, Martin Vitik, Antonin Barak, Petr Sevcik, Adam Hlozek, Mojmir Chytil, David Jurasek, Vaclav Cerny, Tomas Chory, Ondrej Lingr, Lukas Cerv, Tomas Vicek, Matej Jurasek
Referee – Marco Guida (Italy)
Leave a Reply