By Seyi Babalola
Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, will face the Czech Republic in their opening UEFA Euro 2024 encounter on Tuesday, June 18 at the Germany’s red bull arena by 8 pm.
Ronaldo has the opportunity to become the first player to compete in six European Championships when Portugal faces the Czech Republic in their Euro 2024 opener.
Portugal also has a strong attacking line-up with Barcelona’s João Félix, Paris Saint-Germain’s Gonçalo Ramos, and Milan’s Rafael Leão, who can support Bruno Fernandes in midfield.
What you need to know
Portugal and Czechia have been accustomed to meeting in EURO final tournaments; this will be their fourth meeting since 1996, with the Czechs winning the first 1-0 in EURO ’96 and Portugal winning the other two – 3-1 in 2008 and 1-0 in 2012.
Ronaldo scored against the Czech Republic in 2008 and 2012, and if he plays in today, he would become the first player to appear in six EUROs.
However, Czechia will not be just concerned with stopping the world’s leading international striker. Ivan Hašek’s squad plays offensive football, with forward Patrik Schick finishing as the five-goal equal top scorer (with Ronaldo) in EURO 2020.
Possible line-ups
Portugal: Diogo Costa; Cancelo, Pepe, Rúben Dias, Nuno Mendes; Palhinha, Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes; Rafael Leão, Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva
Czechia: Staněk; Holeš, Hranáč, Krejčí; Coufal, Souček, Provod, Barák, David Jurásek; Kuchta, Schick
Ahead of the match, Roberto Martínez, Portugal coach said: “I think Czechia’s style is very clear. It’s about taking risks, pressing high, with players who want to score goals. They play to win and it will be a fantastic game for neutral fans. Qualifying showed that our group has a very good attitude and strong commitment. We won ten games, but now it’s the tournament. There are three games in this group and we have to demonstrate our best level here.”
In the same light, Ivan Hašek, Czechia coach said: “The Portuguese are players who feature for the best clubs in the world, they are stars and they go into this match as the favourites, but we want to win. We know about Cristiano Ronaldo, but I want us to say after the game not that we played against him, but that we beat him. Portugal have great quality both up front and at the back. We will not underestimate them, we know about their qualities, but we also want to focus on our team.”
The match will be broadcast on GOtv and DStv. On GOtv channel 61, and DStv channels 222 and 225, respectively.
