Portugal 2-1 Czechia: summary, score, goals, highlights Euro 2024

FT: Portugal 2-1 Czechia

Portugal left it late, very late as substitute Conceição was alert to a loose ball and stabbed home in added time to secure three points in a game which they failed to convince despite their clear domination.

The first half was low on incident as Czechia sat back and were more than capable at dealing with the few attacking threats that Portugal offered.

The breakthrough came in the second half as the side in white managed to create a shot on goal as Provod's effort was too accurate for Costa as it looked like another major Euro 2024 shock could be on the cards.

Portugal did bounce back and eventually with some good luck on the way were level after Hranac steered the ball into his own net after Stanek saved well.

Jota did have the ball in the net as the clock ticked down but Ronaldo (who was quiet pretty much all evening) drifted into an offside position and just when it seemed that the spoils were to be shared, substitute Conceição stabbed home to break Czechia hearts and get Portugal's campaign off to a winning start.

It's all over in Leipzig and Portugal get their Euro 2024 campaign off to a winning start with a late strike from Conceição against a Czechia side who well feel hard done by.

Drama in Leipzig as it looks like Portugal get three points with Conceição only on the field for just over a minute.

This is a cruel blow on Czechia who were so solid for the bulk of the contest.

Conceição it is with the goal as the FC Porto man is alert and takes advantage of the gift.

The 21 year old is carded for removing his shirt in the celebration.

We're into added time.

We'll have 4 minutes of additioanl time.

Neto,Conceição and Semedo on for Portugal

Vitinha, Mendes and Cancelo making way

VAR looking at the goal and it won't stand a Ronaldo was inces offside as he headed. 

Back to 1-1

Into the final five and Czechia hold firm.

A frustrating night for Cristiano who has flitted in and out of the game.

Soucek goes agonisingly close as the West Ham man clips the ball inches wide. 

The Czechia captain possibly the man of the match here in Leipzig tonight.

Into the final ten minutes as Portugal continue to press.

Vitinha forces another save from the Czechia keeper as the men in red win yet another corner kick.

The delivery is poor and that's the 12th wasted corner kick.

Irrespective of the result, this has not been a solid showing from Portugal with many tipping Roberto Martinez's men to go all the way !

Just over 15 minutes remain in Leipzig. Do we have a winner here ?

Portugal playing with added zip now boosted by the goal as Silva strikes and forces the keeper to make a fine save.

The ball actually went in off defender Hranac as the keeper palmed the ball out into open play.

A gift for Roberto Martinez's men!

Portugal's play is far too predictable !

The Czechia fans in raptures as they celebrate the Lukas Provod strike.

For all their possession, Portugal have yet to carve open the Czechia rear guard and the men in white have done a more than admirable job at repelling any threats.

Dalot and Leao both supped with Jota and Inacio the replacements.

My word... what a smash and grab by the men in white !

Still over 20 minues to go...

Great strike from the Slavia man who leaves the Portugal keeper with no chance.

First attempt on goal and first strike for Czechia.

Provod it is who puts Ivan Hsek's side ahead. 

Czechia changes

The rain now teeming down and surely impacting on the footing of the players.

Portugal still probing, Czechia still defending !

Danger for Czechia as Portugal win a free 25m from the goal.

CR7 range !

Schick carded as Cristiano strikes and his effort beats the wall but easily saved by the keeper. 

Take nothing away from Czechia by the way as they have defended the Portugal side in a composed and organised manner. Soucek has been a rock at the back for the side in white.

That's better from Portugal as CR7 heads over but the build up play was sharper as Vitinha delivered a teasing ball.

Bernardo Silva has a shot from long range but it's poor from the City man as he skies the ball and things are very flat for Portugal.

Could Martinez switch CR7?

The rain continues to lash down in Leipzig and surely it's only a question of time before Portugal makes changes as their current game plan seems to short of a spark.

A rare break forward for Czechia as Leverkusen striker Schick strikes the ball high and wide.

The restart has seen a similar pattern as the first period develop as Portugal have the ball and Czechia sit back and invite the men in red to attack. 

No changes at the interval with Czechia set to restart the game.

The teams are back on the pitch.

Can Czechia hold out for a further 45 minutes.

Turkey fans celebrating their earlier Group F win over Georgia will be hoping that the Czechs can keep Portugal at bay and would celebrate a draw.

Coming up tomorrow at Euro 24

Croatia vs Albania starts the day in Group B with host nation Germany in action against Hungary with Scotland and Switzerland topping off the day.

Portugal to make changes?

Roberto Martinez does have a wealth of talent on the bench in the form of Jota, Joao Felix, Sa, Neves and Ramos.

No goals at the break

Nice honesty from the official Czechia X account ! 

The whistle sounds and its a frustrated Portugal side who leave the Leipzig pitch who really have very little to show for their domination.

Czecha has rarely broken into the opposition but keeping Roberto Martinez's side at bay seems to be the name of the game for the Eastern European side. 

First time in Euro 2024 that we've gone in 0-0 at the interval.

We'll have one minute of additional time.

CR7 gets a shot off and it's easy for Stanek who palms the ball back into open play.

Final minute of the half. 

A frustrating spell for the Portugal side who have yet to really get into the groove.

Still no breakthrough for Portugal in Leipzig but it's Czechia coach Hasek who will be the happier at the interval should it remain 0-0.

Less than five minutes remain in the first half and despite all their domination, Portugal have very little to show for their possession and time with the ball.

First card of the night goes to Rafael Leao for a dive as he looks to sneak an advantage but the Italian ref is wise to his game.

Concern for Czechia as Soucek seems to have picked up a knock and looks miserable.

Portugal bossing in possession 74-26 (%) and only three freekicks awarded so far in a free flowing contest.

Another corner (7th) for Portugal and the highest amount of any team at Euro 2024 so far as Ronaldo back heels to force panic in the Czechia defence.

Rafael Leao is the standout man for Portugal so far with it being a reasonably quiet showing from Ronaldo.

Just as we say that CR7 sneaks in and forces a fine save from Stanek in the Czechia goal.

Yet another corner for Portugal.... 

Dias and Pepe are up...

For the nth time tonight, the delivery is poor and the defenders avert the danger.

Portugal counter and Fernandes almost finds Leao but the Milan striker is inches away from latching onto the ball.

Wow, what a hit from Fernandes as the ball just dips late at the last minute. Best chance if the game so far.

Five corners for the Iberians so far and Czechia's problem is an inability to retain possession.

Another Portugal corner and yet again Czechia deal admirably with the delivery.

Another Portugal corner.

Again, the Czech rearguard do well in snuffing out the danger.

Hasek's side looking comfirtable.

60% of the Czechia squad play their football domestically with the bulk of the Portugal side playing with the likes of Man City, PSG, Barça and Man United.

Possession

Portugal 71-29 Czechia (%)

Great noise levels in the stadium with the Czechs making all the din as their side have started well and have managed to keep Ronaldo and co at bay.

The rain is absolutely bucketing down now in Leipzig !

Ronaldo on the ball as a few jeers ring out from the Czechia fans.. Leao does well and feed the ball into the box but no-one in a red jersey was there.

CR7 clipped and looks for a freekick but the Italian referee is unimpressed and waves play on.

The rain that was earlier forecast has materialised as Portugal continue to dominate possession albeit yet to really lay any form of serious threat to the Czechia goal. 

44 goals from CR7 in 45 games for the Al Nassr man this side... The striker remains a goal machine !

CR7 presented with a half chance but the striker sees the ball come off his shoulder rather than his head and the ball drifts wide. 

First sense of danger from the side in red.

First corner of the night as the Czech rearguard sense Leao sneaking in and the delivery from Vitinha is poor and easlily cleared by the men in white.

Danger as Czechia have the ball on the edge of the Portugal box but the flag was up...

Both sides testing the water in a slow and tentative start to the action.

A dinked ball into the box from Silva looks for Ronaldo but the delivery is too strong from the Man City man. 

Czechia start strongly but fail to keep the ball in play and possession goes Portugal's way.

Off we go and Portugal start the action.

Sucek and Ronaldo pose with the officials with kick off just moments away.

Final words of encouragement for both sets of players.

Ronaldo belting out the Portugal anthem with great gusto !

The teams are on the pitch and it's national anthem time!

Most expensive matchday 1 on secondary ticket market

Tonight's game has been the match with the highest resale price on the secondary ticket market according to Seatwave with appetite to see Ronaldo still at an all time high.

Tonight's game leads the tournament opener with an average resale price of €1282  ahead of Germany-Scotland which saw the average resale price of €1188 and in third place the Italy-Albania clash last Saturday in Dortmund with the average resale price for a ticket at €696.

Game 1 of four for Leipzig

Tonight's game is the first of four matches the RBL Arena will host during the tournament.

The Netherlands vs France will be staged here on 21.06 before Croatia face Italy in the final Group B match with the stadium also due to host one R16 clash.

The stadium is the smallest of the ten Euro 2024 grounds with just a capacity of 40,000.

A reminder of how tonight's teams start for those just joining us.

Kick-off is less than half an hour away in Leipzig.

Both teams warming up in Leipzig

Both sets of players are now out on the pitch going through a series of pre game drills. As is always the case the starting eleven of both sides work together as the subs go through a more less intensive series of exercises.

Team colours for Group F clash

Portugal are deemed the home side tonight and will sport their classic red jerseys with green shorts. Czechia, the 'away' team as a consequence will have to wear their white shirts with their traditional red clashing with that of Portugal.

Czechia or Czech Republic?

Czechoslovakia was the name of the nation that united the Czech Republic and Slovakia which peacefully split in 1992 to form two nations. 

A government resolution passed back in 2016 officially approved of the renaming as Czechia with the change only becoming official as of 2023. 

It's now a case of goodbye Czech Republic, hello Czechia !

Portugal's Pepe to write history

Portugal's Pepe is set to become the oldest player to appear at the European Championships finals when he makes his appearance in Leipzig tonight, aged 41 years and 113 days.

Fans packing into the stadium

At present, it looks like the Portuguese supporters outnumber their counterparts from Eastern Europe with many Liga Bwin jerseys also visible in the support group (Boavista, Braga ...)

Portugal-Czechia: matchday weather

It's a warm summer evening in Leipzig with less than an hour to kick-off with a current temperature of 21C-70 F... ideal conditions for players and fans alike...however, a weather warning has just been issued for the area with thunderstorms reported in the area.

Czechia XI named

Staněk - Holeš, Hranáč, Krejčí - Coufal, Šulc, Souček, Provod, Douděra - Kuchta, Schick are the eleven men set to start for the Eastern European side with the Leverkusen striker Schick the main offensive threat for the Iberian side.

In the early Group F game in Dortmund, Turkey start strongly with a 3-1 win over tournament debutants Georgia.

Portugal XI confirmed

These are the eleven men selected by Roberto Martinez for the Euro 2024 opener in Leipzig as CR7 leads a team packed with talent as the veteran striker is joined by Milan's Leâo.

Pepe starts in defence at the ripe old age of 41 !

Portugal celebrate Celtics win

With the Celtics beating Dallas last night at the TD Garden to win the best of seven series by 4-1, Boston player Neemias Queta became the first Portuguese to ever be crowned an NBA champion.

Italian official for Leipzig clash

It's an all Italian match official affair tonight with Marco Guida set to oversee the game assisted by Filippo Meli and Giorgio Peretti.

Massimiliano Irrati is manning the VAR booth and also hails from Italy.

Czechia checking in

Ivan Hasek's men have arrived at the Leipzig stadium as kick off in the later Group F looms ever closer.

Ronaldo looking to add to record

Euro 2024 presents another great opportunity for Ronaldo to add to his record tally of 130 international goals, more than any other male soccer player in history. CR7 is currently 22 goals clear of Lionel Messi and Ali Daei, both of whom have 108 international goals, and will be eager to add to his tally.

Even at his advanced age Ronaldo remains a potential game-winner and he has been in incredible goal-scoring form for the national team in recent years. He scored ten goals in nine appearances for Portugal during the qualification for this year’s tournament and will be desperate to lead his team to another triumph.

Predicted Portugal XI

We're still about 25 minutes or so away from learning what side Roberto Martinez will field for the Euro 2024 clash in Leipzig but predict a line-out not dissimilar to the following:

Portugal predicted team: Diogo Costa - João Cancelo, Pepe, Rúben Dias, Nuno Mendes - João Palhinha, Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes - Rafael Leão, Cristiano Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva

Portugal fans in fine voice pre-ko

The Portugal fans are getting ready in the streets of Leipzig.

Group F

Portugal and the Czechs are pitted in Group F along with Turkey and Georgia. The top two sides automatically advance to the Round of 16 with four of the best third places sides also progressing.

Matchday 1

Turkey-Georgia

Portugal-Czechia

Matchday 2

Georgia-Czechia

Turkey-Portugal

Matchday 3

Czechia-Turkey

Georgia-Portugal

All eyes on CR7

Even at the ripe old age of 39, Cristiano Ronaldo is still massive box-office and the Portugal striker boasts the most followed Instagram account in the world, leading the likes of Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Kylie Jenner.

Despite being in the twilight of his career, Ronaldo still has an eye for goal and despite failing to bag any silverware this season with his club side Al Nassr, the Madeira native was the top marksman in the Saudi Pro League. 

All things point to Ronaldo starting tonight with the striker very much valued by Portugal boss Roberto Martinez.

The action at the Leipzig Stadion (home to Bundesliga side RB Leipzig) gets underway at 3pm ET with a packed house of 40,000 in the first game staged at the venue in the former East Germany.

Hello and a warm welcome to our live Euro 2024 coverage as Portugal and Czechia get their tournament action in this Group F clash in Leipzig.