Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal will look to clinch their second European championship as they are scheduled to open their UEFA Euro 2024 campaign against the Czech Republic at the Red Bull Arena Leipzig on Tuesday, June 18. Portugal and Czechia are placed in Group F alongside Turkey and Georgia.
Roberto Martinez’s side finished the qualifying campaign with a perfect record of 10 victories and registered a 3-0 win against Ireland in their last friendly game with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a brace and taking his career goals to 855. On the other hand, the Czech Republic have been unbeaten in their last seven matches across all competitions. Czechia’s star forward Patrik Schick, who levelled Ronaldo with five goals in Euro 2020, scored a penalty in their last friendly clash against North Macedonia.
Portugal vs Czechia: Match Preview
Portugal and Czechia have faced each other five times in European competitions with the former dominating the fixture with four wins while the latter managed a win in the Euro 1996. In their 5 clashes, Portugal have scored 10 goals while Czechia have scored just two goals as they failed to score a goal in their last three fixtures.
In the European championship, Portugal failed to replicate their 2016 success as they were knocked out of the Euro 2020 Round of 16 against Belgium by 1-0. On the other hand, the Czech Republic reached the quarter-final stage in the Euro 2020 after defeating the Netherlands by 2-0 and eventually lost against Denmark 2-1.
Portugal vs Czechia: Match Prediction
Portugal are considered tournament favourites and their star-studded squad can turn the match in their favour at any point in a match. While Czechia have shown their goal-scoring prowess lately with their 7-1 thrashing of Malta in friendlies. The match between Portugal and Czech is expected to be a goal fest with the former winning the game by two to three goals difference.
Martinez’s squad are the top-performing side in the qualifiers with 36 goals scored in 10 matches and conceded just two goals, which is the fewest. The attacking unit of Portugal led by Ronaldo boasts a wealth of talent including Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Rafael Leao, Diogo Jota, and Joao Felix among others.
On the other hand, Czechia might not had dominating qualifiers like Portugal, but they finished as Group E runners-up behind Albania and will get a huge boost from their star players’ current form. Following the re-appointment of head coach Ivan Hasek, the Czech Republic have built plenty of momentum with their four wins in a row prior to the Euro 2024.
Portugal vs Czech Republic: Predicted Lineups
Portugal Predicted XI: Diogo Costa; Joao Cancelo, Pepe, Ruben Dias, Nuno Mendes; Bruno Fernandes, Joao Palhinha, Joao Neves; Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Leao
Czech Republic Predicted XI: Jindrich Stanek; Martin Vitik, Tomas Holes, Robin Hranac, Vladimir Coufal; Tomas Soucek, Lukas Provod, Antonin Barak, David Jurasek; Patrik Schic k, Mojmir Chytil