On the evening of June 18, a match in Group F of the group stage of the European Championship was contested, with Portugal, ranked 6th in the world, facing the Czech Republic, the "Iron Rider of Eastern Europe". In the game, Ronaldo missed a single chance in the first half; In the second half, Cristiano Ronaldo had a header on the post to assist his teammates, but the first goal was invalidated due to offside. In stoppage time, Conceição scored the winner to help Portugal win 2-1.
Portugal won Euro 2016 and are the only team to have progressed from the group stage in each of their last seven editions. The team lineup is star-studded, led by veterans such as Ronaldo and Pepe, and stars such as B seat, B fee, Leao, Ruben Dias, and Jota are all selected. Captain Cristiano Ronaldo tops the all-time scoring charts at the European Championship with 14 goals, and he has also set a record for six consecutive European Championships.
The Czech Republic is currently ranked 36th in the world, West Ham midfielder Soucek and defender Chofal and Bayer Leverkusen center Schick are the core players of the team, they are in the same group as Poland and Albania in the European Championship qualifiers, with 8 games, 4 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss, 15 points tied for the top spot in the group, and directly advanced to the European Championship finals.
The last five times the two teams have met, Portugal has a clear upper hand with 4 wins and 1 loss. In the 2022 UEFA Nations League, Portugal defeated their opponents 2-0 and 4-0 in both legs. In the starting lineup, Cristiano Ronaldo started as the captain, and stars such as Leao, B, B Fei, Pepe, Ruben Dias, and Cancelo all played.
The race started in heavy rain. In the 8th minute, Leao crossed from the left, Ronaldo grabbed a header in the penalty area and did not choose a good position, and the ball bounced off the ground and missed the goal. In the 11th minute, the Portuguese team sent a direct pass in the middle, and Ronaldo failed to receive the ball under the close defense of the opponent's player. In the 17th minute, Nuno Mendes made a cold shot from the edge of the penalty area, and the ball went over the crossbar.
In the 19th minute, Portugal played a wonderful offensive cooperation on the right side, B-seat direct pass, Dalot crossed near the bottom line, and Ronaldo grabbed the point in the middle and failed to reach the ball under the interference of the opponent's defender. In the 22nd minute, Vitinha won the ball on the left and crossed, and Ruben Dias's long-range shot was blocked by the Czech defender. In the 24th minute, B Fei took a few steps with the ball on the left side, and then blasted a defoliating ball with his right foot, and the ball was slightly over the crossbar.
In the 26th minute, B-Fei sent a high-quality through ball from the right, and Leao's sliding tackle shot in the box failed to touch the ball. In the 29th minute, Leao crossed from the left, and Ronaldo grabbed the point in the middle but still failed to catch up with the ball, which can be seen that the 39-year-old is a little powerless on the field in the face of such a high-intensity competition.
In the 32nd minute, B-Fei took the ball in the middle and sent a through pass, Ronaldo was alert to insert a single knife, but his low right-footed shot hit the opposing goalkeeper and missed a good opportunity to help the team open the scoring.
In the 33rd minute, Cristiano Ronaldo made a wonderful pass with his heel at the top of the penalty area, and Nuno Mendes inserted the ball into the penalty area, but failed to form a shot under the opposing player's close defense. In the 39th minute, the Portuguese team counterattacked the opportunity, Leao led the way on the left side and fell down after going straight into the opponent's penalty area, the referee determined that it was a fake fall and showed him a yellow card. In the 45th minute, Ronaldo took the ball on the right side of the penalty area, then turned and shot with his left foot, but the angle was too good and was saved by the opposing goalkeeper.
In the first half of the game, Portugal's attack was focused on Ronaldo, and his teammates passed the ball many times to find him, but under the opponent's tight defense, Ronaldo did not have many chances except for the single shot that did not score.
In the second half, the Czechs broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute and Portugal equalised in the 69th minute with an own goal from an opposition defender.
In this goal, Ronaldo's pressure on Czech central defender Hlanaci also played a certain role. After that, Cristiano Ronaldo hit the post with a header in the 88th minute, and Jota scored from the spot. However, VAR showed that Ronaldo was offside and the goal was invalidated.
In the 90+3rd minute, Neto broke through on the left side and assisted Conceição Jr. to score with his left foot, and Portugal achieved a stunner 2-1!
Ronaldo remained active throughout the game, with five shots on goal and three on target, both of which were the highest among any player on the pitch, with a post-match rating of 7.1.