Sunday June 23, 2024
Cristiano Ronaldo (R) of Portugal competes during the UEFA Euro 2024 Group F match between Portugal and Türkiye on June 22, 2024.
Portugal advanced the last 16 as Group F winners after securing a 3-0 victory over Türkiye while Belgium reaped their first Group E win in the second round of the Euro 2024 group stage on Saturday.
Türkiye failed to mark the opener early on as Kerem Akturkoglu missed the target from promising position inside the box.
Both sides exchanged attacks but failed to produce meaningful finishes at each end of the pitch, as the match progressed.
Things changed with 21 minutes played when Bernardo Silver opened the scoring with a well-place shot in the box, which was the first clear-cut opportunity for Portugal.
Türkiye had to swallow another goal seven minutes later as defender Samet Akaydin's back-pass caught goalie Altay Bayindir flatfooted and extended Portugal's advantage.
Vincenzo Montella's men never recovered from that quick fire, and Cristiano Ronaldo's build-up work and assist allowed Bruno Fernandes to seal the second win for Portugal on 56 minutes.
"I think we played at the same level as we did against the Czech Republic, but this time we scored first. Türkiye started well, but we stood up to it and once we scored, we controlled the game," said Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez.
In the other Group F encounter, the Czech Republic secured one point after playing out a 1-1 stalemate with resilient Euro debutants Georgia as Patrik Schick's second-half equalizer cancelled out Georges Mikautadze's first half opener.
With the results, Portugal top the group with six points followed by Türkiye (3 points), the Czech Republic and Georgia (both 1 point).
In Group E, Belgium recovered from their first-round defeat to Slovakia and clinched the crucial three points after overpowering Romania 2-0 on the goals from Youri Tielemans and Kevin de Bruyne.
The Red Devils broke the deadlock with two minutes played through Tielemans. Romania pressed for the equalizer in the second half, but Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku got a goal ruled out before De Bruyne's late goal put the win beyond doubt.
"The win is a big relief. We made our own life difficult in the second half whereas we staged a dominant performance in the first half. In the second half, we played too defensive but remained dangerous on counters. The second goal came too late but was of course a relief," said Belgium goalkeeper Koen Casteel.