Portugal vs Czech Republic live updates (2024)

All eyes were on Ronaldo — but instead it was Czech Republic who took the lead, with yet another strike from outside the box; the 11th of this tournament.

Portugal were handed a huge slice of luck when Robin Hranac turned into his own net seven minutes after going behind.

And then arrived Francisco Conceicao.

Our own Tim Spiers, Tom Burrows and Sam Lee take us through all the key talking points.

In a defensive display, the physically imposing Czech Republic soaked up Portuguese pressure for much of the contest played in the pouring rain at Leipzig.

Ivan Hasek, who only returned to manage his country for a second spell in January, set his team up in a conservative 5-3-2 formation against their opponents filled with a cast of stellar names.

Although Portugal dominated possession, they were never banging on the door and in the end, Portugal’s equaliser came via a huge slice of luck as goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek parried the slippery ball onto the knee of Robin Hranac and into the net.

Like it or not, Cristiano Ronaldo is still the name on everyone’s lips when it comes to this Portugal team. The number of fans with his name on their shirt outnumber other players by about 10 to one, his name was roared with the volume of a goal when the line-ups were read out and they cheered his every touch in the warm up. The cult of Ronaldo is alive and well.

But now that he’s 39 years old and plays in Saudi Arabia, aka the 27th best league in the world, could he still cut it at an international tournament?

Well, he was far more involved in the game than he was during the 2022 World Cup, when he was so ineffective he was dropped. He was also, quite clearly, the team’s leader and talisman.

It is nice to know that it’s not just England who seem to have problems fitting their quality players into a coherent system.

Portugal picked up a morale-boosting late victory and showed that they have enough options (quality on the bench, versatility on the pitch) to find different solutions, and more will be expected of them after finding a way to get over the line.

But a little like England, it was far from the most convincing opening victory.

They dominated the game, which Czech Republic were happy enough with, but they never really clicked despite deploying an admirably fluid system.

There was also a chance for Ivan Hasek to praise the impact of Cristiano Ronaldo — just in case anyone was starting to consider the fact his powers might be waning. The Czech coach told UEFA:

💬 “It is really unbelievable how dangerous a player Cristiano is in every game, at his age. He showed his genius again, he knows how to get involved in chances.

“My hat goes off to him; he is one of the best players in football history. Truly a fabulous man.”

It’s an opening defeat for Czech Republic, with games against Turkey and Georgia to come in Group F. Here’s how their head coach, Ivan Hasek, saw the result tonight, speaking to UEFA:

💬 “I have to admit it is a big pity that we did not finish our work; it was close. We made it very difficult for Portugal, one of the best teams in the world.

“We are all disappointed to have conceded in added time. We have to put it behind us very quickly, as in four days we will play a key game. We will need to improve.”

That key game coming up next is against Georgia on Saturday.

By the way, there should be a little leeway for Czech Republic. Although the starting XI averaged 27.6 years old, the squad is actually the youngest at the tournament. Here are the five youngest squads at Euro 2024:

• 1: Czech Republic — 25.5 years
• 2: Turkey — 25.8 years
• 3: England — 26.1 years
• 4: Netherlands — 26.3 years
• 5: Ukraine — 26.3 years

And no, it’s unlikely England will get any leeway for featuring third in that list. As for the five oldest squads, they are:

• 1: Germany — 28.6 years
• 2: Scotland — 28.3
• 3: Poland — 27.8
• 4: Denmark — 27.7
• 5: Switzerland — 27.7

I know what you’re thinking…

"But Michael, who were the other golden oldies to feature in European Championships of yore?"

Well, we’ve got a graphic for that. And here it is.

Enjoy.

And with that, we’ve now had a look at every team at Euro 2024. I’ll let you think on which team impressed you most and who left you cursing their unconvincing start.

Today it was Group F’s turn. Here’s how the table looks after those opening games today, with Turkey beating Georgia 3-1 in Dortmund earlier.

The omnipresent Portugal defender, Pepe. All hail another landmark.

Tonight, Pepe became the oldest player to appear at a European Championship. He's 41 years old.

How did he celebrate? He won possession 11 times, which was more than any other player during the opening group games of Euro 2024.

Who knows when he'll stop playing. You wouldn't catch me guessing.

This is a great one from Opta Analyst. No player in the opening round of Euro 2024 group games was involved in more open-play shot sequences than Bruno Fernandes tonight.

That means taking a shot, creating a chance or having a role in the build-up to a shot.

Fernandes had 11 of them, and this shows the breakdown.

Not only did Francisco Conceicao score after just 111 seconds of coming on.

He also became the first Portugal player to score as a substitute at the European Championship since Eder… who won the 2016 final against France.

Nice stuff, Chico.

It was overtaken in the end, but it really was a lovely moment for Slavia Prague midfielder Lukas Provod, when he opened the scoring tonight.

He missed Euro 2020 with an ACL injury, studied for an economics degree during his recovery, and put his country ahead in their Euro 2024 opener with a fabulous goal.

It's hard to look at these numbers and think Portugal deserved anything but to win tonight. Here they are...

FT: Portugal 2-1 Czech Republic

• Possession: 74% — 26%
• Shots: 19 — 5
• On target: 8 — 1
• XG: 1.74 — 0.43
• Big chances: 4 — 0
• Blocked shots: 7 — 2
• Duels won: 49 — 38
• Dispossessed: 6 — 4

We did think Portugal would come through in the end, and they did. But on that showing, I would probably have a couple of others squads ahead of them in the pecking order to win Euro 2024 (he says, getting completely ahead of himself).

Cristiano Ronaldo was involved too. He had the highest individual xG of any player and more shots than anyone else (5). Although the latter can clearly influence the former.

But it was Chico Conceicao who had the largest xG. A whopping 0.72 in fact, for just a few minutes of action — and becoming the matchwinner as a result.

Francisco Conceicao was on the pitch for 111 seconds, and scored with just his second touch.

How about that for efficiency?

Incredible impact from the two subs - Pedro Neto's cross, Francisco Conceicao's finish.

There were SIX attacking players - Diogo Jota, Pedro Neto, Francisco Conceicao, Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva - on the pitch at the end there.

90+2' Portugal 2-1 Czech Republic

It’s a fabulous touch and a composed finish from Francisco Conceicao and made by Pedro Neto, who had only come on a few minutes earlier too.

But there is also big help from Hranac again, as he slips and Neto’s cross is popped on a plate for Conceicao.

The scorer is booked for his celebrations, as the shirt swiftly comes off.