Group F of the 2024 European championships will see Portugal, alongside Turkiye, the Czech Republic, and one of Georgia, Luxembourg, Greece, and Kazakhstan battle for the final spot in the group via playoffs in March (as of time of writing).
Newly appointed Roberto Martinez took over from long-term gaffer Fernando Santos following a disappointing World Cup campaign last year courtesy of a Youssef En-Nesyri header. Portugal have bounced back by winning all 10 games since Martinez’s appointment scoring 36 goals and only conceding two as they dominated their qualification group. Both goals came in their return leg to Slovakia, spelling the side kept nine out of a possible 10 clean sheets.
The new gaffer managed Belgium’s golden generation to all three of their last significant tournaments and is undoubtedly equipped with the tactical capability to lead a vastly talented Portuguese squad looking to build on their laurels having won the tournament in 2016.
Portugal has a storied history in the UEFA European Championship, having participated in every tournament since 1984. The team has always progressed past the group stage, reaching the semi-finals on five occasions. In 2004, Portugal hosted the tournament and reached the final, only to be defeated by the underdogs, Greece. However, Portugal would not be denied in 2016, winning the tournament after a 1–0 victory over France in the final. With such a strong track record, Portugal will be looking to add to their tally of one tournament victory in 2024.
The Czech national team currently skippered by West Ham United’s Tomas Soucek is certainly no pushover, as they’ve repeatedly shown that they’re one to ground out results in both the beautiful and ugly ways. The Czech Republic has participated in every European Championship since the country’s independence from Czechoslovakia in 1996.
The first competition as an independent nation saw the team finish as runners-up, and they have continued to be a competitive side in every tournament since. In the last European Championship, the Czech Republic reached the quarter-finals, where Denmark eliminated them. This rich history will give the Czech Republic confidence to build on its success in 2024.
Czech finished second in their qualification group behind Albania despite being tied on points (15). The Albanians had the upper hand in both goal difference and head-to-head.
These sides have faced off 5 times, with the Czech taking the share of the spoils on just one occasion and the other 4 favoring the Portuguese giants who have put 10 past their opponents whilst conceding just 2. There have been no draws between the sides so far.
Match Tickets
This fixture will take place at the Red Bull Arena, home to Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, on the 18th of June, 2024 at 20:00. The stadium was rebuilt in 2004 inside the shell of the old Zentralstadion, the largest stadium in East Germany.
It has a state-of-the-art retractable roof and a capacity of 40,000. Fans can apply for Portugal vs Czech Republic tickets on UEFA’s official ticketing portal, which uses a lottery system to allocate tickets. Each individual can request up to four tickets per match, with a maximum of one match per day. Applicants have the opportunity to win up to 88 tickets throughout the application.
Team News
Line ups
Portuguese footballing icon and all-time top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo’s international future came into question after the 2022 FIFA World Cup; still, he has continued to defy the odds to partake in this tournament which may or may not be his last at the international stage.
He scored 10 goals in qualification, a tally bettered only by Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku (14 goals). Provided with creative support from Manchester duo Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes, the trio of Diogo Jota, Rafa Leao, and Joao Felix of Liverpool, AC Milan and Barcelona (loan from Atletico Madrid), respectively, showcasing additional firepower. On the offense, Roberto Martinez’s team is all but ready.
Still shored up in defense by another aged veteran Pepe, City defender Ruben Dias, Goncalo Inacio, Antonio Silva, and highly revered overlapping full-back Joao Cancelo. The team is robust with talent on all sides. In goal, Porto’s sweeper goalkeeper Diogo Costa has now retained the starting shirt of the long-term Rui Patricio. At the same time, Jose Sa of Wolverhampton Wanderers will likely round up the goalkeeping contingent.
Portugal XI – Costa; Cancelo, Dias, Inacio, Mendes; Neves, Palhinha, Bruno; Bernardo, Ronaldo, Jota.
Czech’s Patrick Schick finished as joint top scorer of the 2020 Euros alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, having recently returned from a long-term injury. The competition was provided by Nigerian forward Victor Boniface who came in over the summer of 2023 at club level. Gaffer Jaroslav Silhavy will hopefully have him fully fit for the tournament to reinforce the firepower provided by teammate Adam Hlozek and Tomas Cvancara of Borussia Monchengladbach.
Captain Tomas Soucek and his delayed penalty entries have bolstered the offensive threat of the Czech.
Czech Republic XI – Stanek; Stronati, Brabec, Zima; Zeleny, Sadilek, Soucek, Masopust; Hlozek, Schick, Cvancara.
Prediction
The Selecao have all it takes to go in the tournament. They are well-rounded and boast squad depth in every part of the field. The Czech have their work cut out for them and will have to be on the best of their defensive compactness to grind out a result against Roberto Martinez’s super team.
Portugal 3-0 Czech Republic
