Tag: Portugal

Portugal crushed Armenia 9-1 despite the absence of suspended talisman Cristiano Ronaldo on Sunday to clinch qualification for the 2026 World Cup finals.

Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Paris Saint-Germain’s Joao Neves both scored a hat-trick as Roberto Martinez’s side racked up a huge win in Porto to top Group F.

Renato Veiga got the ball rolling for Portugal, with Goncalo Ramos and Francisco Conceicao also on the score sheet.

After a draw in Hungary in October and a surprise defeat in Ireland on Thursday, in which Ronaldo was sent off, Portugal wrapped up qualification at the third attempt in their final group match.

They will compete in a seventh consecutive edition of the World Cup, a tournament which the Euro 2016 champions are yet to win.

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 “We always want to win in the same way – to be convincing and control the game. It’s not always possible, but today we were effective and achieved a good victory,” said Fernandes.

With midfielder Fernandes playing a key role throughout, Portugal made a quick start by scoring in the seventh minute.

Fernandes’s vicious in swinging free-kick from just outside the left side of the box was pushed onto the post by goalkeeper Henri Avagyan but Veiga was on hand to head home the rebound.

The visitors shocked the hosts by scoring on their first attack to equalise, with Grant-Leon Ranos crossing for Armenia captain Eduard Spertsyan to strike.

However, Portugal quickly stepped up a gear and racked up an unassailable lead. Paris Saint-Germain striker Ramos intercepted a back pass and squeezed home his country’s second after rounding Avagyan.

Portugal put together a tidy move for their third, with Neves blasting home from the edge of the box after being teed up by Fernandes.

Neves netted a spectacular second with a free-kick which flew into the top right corner, leaving Avagyan with no chance.

Fernandes netted the fifth in first half stoppage time with a low penalty after Ruben Dias was fouled.

The Manchester United midfielder continued where he left off after the break, slotting home his second after being fed by Ramos.

Fernandes completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after debutant substitute Carlos Forbs was felled.

Neves followed suit for Portugal’s eighth goal, smashing home after Veiga headed Fernandes’s cross into his path.

Juventus forward Conceicao added the ninth in stoppage time to seal one of his country’s biggest-ever victories.

 “Now we can truly dream about the World Cup, I was very pleased with the players’ response (after the Ireland defeat),” said Martinez.

“We’re at the World Cup! Let’s go, Portugal!” wrote Ronaldo on social media platform X.

The striker could miss the start of the tournament depending on whether FIFA extend his suspension beyond the mandatory one-match ban he served against Armenia.

Ireland stunned Hungary with a late winner to triumph 3-2 in the other Group F match and reach the play-offs, with Troy Parrott following up his midweek brace against Portugal with a hat-trick.

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers

Azerbaijan 1-3 France

Ukraine 2-0 Iceland

Hungary 2-3 Ireland

Portugal 9-1Armenia

Serbia 2-1Latvia

Israel  vs. Moldova

Italy  1-4  Norway

Bernardo Silva scored the winning spot-kick as Portugal beat Slovenia 3-0 in a Euro 2024 last 16 penalty shoot-out after a tense tie finished goalless on Monday.

Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty in the first period of extra-time and was seen to visibly weep as his team-mates consoled him, before Benjamin Sesko missed a great chance to stun Portugal with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Diogo Costa saved Slovenia’s first three penalties in the shoot-out with Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Silva converting all of Portugal’s efforts.

Earlier, an 85^th  minute deflected shot by substitute Randal Kolo Muani, listed as a Jan Vertonghen own goal, gave France a nervy but deserved 1-0 Euro 2024 last-16 win over a disappointing Belgium.

France made most of the running in a cagey game but were reckless with their finishing, until a nice combination of passes, finished off by N’Golo Kante, finally created space for Kolo Muani to turn and bundle a mishit shot in off the leg of Vertonghen and leave goalkeeper Koen Casteels wrong-footed.

France will now meet Portugal in the quarter-finals in Hamburg on Friday.

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It was a fittingly scruffy decider for an underwhelming game and means that France still have yet to score from open play at the tournament, recording two own goals and a Kylian Mbappe penalty across their four games so far.

Coach Didier Deschamps, unsurprisingly, saw it differently. “It’s beautiful. It was tight but we enjoyed possession and we had more opportunities,” he said.

“We did a lot of good things. We have to savour it, it’s quite an achievement. We’re in the quarter finals, they’re going home. It’s a good habit.”

It was a meeting between officially the second (France) and third (Belgium) best teams in the world, but after both limped into the knockout stage via unimpressive final group-stage draws, managing only two goals apiece from their three games, they looked extremely cautious in attack.

Belgium clearly had a plan to take any speed out of the game, playing at less than walking pace at times, with Kevin de Bruyne often operating just in front of his back four.

The best chance of the first half came for France after 34 minutes when Jules Kounde whipped in a curling cross that recalled striker Marcus Thuram headed wide – and spent the next two minutes berating himself for.

Aurelien Tchouameni forced Koen Casteels into his first save of the day soon after the break, while ever-lively Mbappe miskicked a decent chance as France began to put some passes together.

A rare Belgian thrust was cut short by a brilliant Theo Hernandez tackle just as Yannick Carrasco was about to pull the trigger and Romelu Lukaku and De Bruyne then brought good saves from Mike Maignan.

The poor finishing that has dogged France’s entire campaign continued with William Saliba and Mbappe both blazing over before Kolo Muani’s decisive intervention.

“We’re enjoying this, we pushed hard, we had a lot of attempts but we were missing the target,” said Kolo Muani, who was inches away from national hero status in the 2022 World Cup final until Argentine keeper Emi Martinez got a toe to what would have been his winning goal.

All eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo in  tomorrow’s Euro 2024 match against Georgia after selfie-hunting pitch invaders in Portugal’s last game raised security concerns and forced UEFA to introduce stricter measures to protect the players.

Portugal’s 3-0 victory over Turkey was marred by at least six fans invading the pitch desperate to get photos with Ronaldo during and after the game in Dortmund on Saturday.

The result secured Portugal qualification for the last 16 as Group F winners while Georgia need a win to reach the knockout stages.

“Safety and security in the stadium, on the pitch and at team facilities are the ultimate priority for UEFA, DFB (German Football Association) and Euro 2024,” UEFA said in a statement. “To this end, additional safety measures will be deployed in the stadiums to further meet the requirements of the tournament, and to prevent such incidents. For reasons of security, we cannot comment further on specific measures.

“Any incursion onto the pitch constitutes a breach of the stadium rules and will result in expulsion from the stadium, a ban from all tournament matches and the filing of a formal criminal complaint for trespass.”

Though the invaders seemed to want just a photo, Portugal coach Robert Martinez expressed fears.

“It’s a concern because today we were lucky that the intentions of the fans were good,” he told reporters. “I think we all love a fan that recognises that big star and the big icons … but you can understand that there is a very, very difficult moment if those intentions are wrong.”

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It is still unclear if Ronaldo will play on Wednesday as Martinez suggested he would rotate his squad.

However, the five-time Ballon D’Or winner is never keen on taking breaks, especially in major tournaments, as he is obsessed with breaking and extending his records which include most goals, appearances and assists for his country.

At 39, Ronaldo would become the oldest player to score in a European Championship if he nets at Euro 2024.

The Turkish are second on three points while Czech Republic and Georgia are bottom on one.

Willy Sagnol’s Georgia have a mountain to climb against the Portuguese after a heart-breaking defeat by Turkey and a draw with Czech Republic.

One point was arguably a harsh return for a battling Georgia side who hit the post late against Turkey and missed a good chance to beat the Czechs with the last kick of the game.

They still could finish second and qualify if they beat Portugal and the Czechs overcome Turkey, but would be eliminated if they lose or draw and the Czechs avoid defeat.

Portugal eased into the last 16 of Euro 2024 as Group F winners with a dominant 3-0 victory over a tormented and tortured Turkey side at the BVB Stadion Dortmund.

The impressive Euro 2016 winners deservedly moved ahead when Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva scored his first goal at a European Championship when he thumped a deflected cross from Nuno Mendes beyond goalkeeper Altay Bayindir from 10 yards on 21 minutes.

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A promising day got worse for Vincenzo Montella’s Turkey seven minutes later when Bayindir came out of his goal to collect a simple pass from Samet Akaydin only for his defender to needlessly turn the ball into his own net without looking as the back pass ended up well over the line before his team-mates could clear.

Youngster Francisco Conceicao snatched Portugal a last-gasp 2-1 win over the Czech Republic in their Euro 2024 Group F opener just minutes after coming off the bench.

The 21-year-old Porto winger capitalised from close range after the Czechs were unable to clear a cross, completing his team’s comeback.

The Czechs went ahead against the run of play through Lukas Provod’s fine strike from the edge of the box after the hour mark.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal did not shine but dug just deep enough to claim victory, with Robin Hranac’s own goal pulling them level before Conceicao’s dramatic winner.

Ronaldo, 39, playing at a record-extending sixth European Championship, was denied by Stanek on three occasions as Portugal constantly looked to find the competition’s all-time top goalscorer.

The striker hit the post with the score tied and Diogo Jota nodded in the rebound but the goal was disallowed for offside against Ronaldo.

 “We showed all our coolness and resilience,” said Portugal midfielder Vitinha. “We remained calm, got the draw and always believed until the end to get the win.

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 “Luckily we managed to do it with the help of the players who came on… we are truly a team.”

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez selected 41-year-old defender Pepe, who became the oldest player in Euros history, beating the record set by Hungary goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly aged 40 in 2016, as part of a three centre-back defence.

Portugal won that tournament in 2016 to claim the trophy for the first time and captain Ronaldo said they deserve another, although they got off to a stuttering start in Germany.

In coach Ivan Hasek’s first competitive game after taking over in January, the Czech Republic largely frustrated Martinez’s side, who qualified unbeaten while scoring more goals than any other team.

Ronaldo sent an effort wide with his shoulder after Rafael Leao cut inside with menace early on, as the Portuguese controlled the ball.

Bruno Fernandes’ deflected dipping effort had some Portugal fans out of their seats and Leao was inches away from connecting with a low cross from the Manchester United playmaker.

Czech goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek thwarted Ronaldo twice in the first half of his record 26th Euros appearance, but on both occasions the striker appeared marginally offside.

The Al Nassr hit man’s brightest moment came with a clever back heel which played in Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Vitinha, but the Czech defence swarmed around him quickly and blocked his shot.

Debate over whether Ronaldo should still be a starter or not has rumbled on since the 2022 World Cup and at times Portugal looked short on ideas beyond slinging crosses in towards him.

Stanek comfortably saved a Ronaldo free-kick from distance before the Czechs made their breakthrough.

Slavia Prague midfielder Provod whipped a superb strike past Diogo Costa from the edge of the box after Portugal failed to fully clear a cross just past the hour mark.

However Portugal were quickly level when Hranac unfortunately turned the ball into his own net, after Stanek palmed Nuno Mendes’ header straight at him from point-blank range.

Ronaldo and Czech Republic striker Patrik Schick finished as joint top scorers at Euro 2020 with five goals each but neither was at their lethal best in Leipzig.

Jota thought he had grabbed a last-gasp winner after Ronaldo’s header bounced off the woodwork into his path, but VAR showed the veteran forward was offside.

It didn’t matter for Martinez’s men though after Conceicao came on to fire them to the three points, putting Portugal level with Turkey at the top of Group F.

“Of course it hurts extremely (badly), although nobody completely thought we would prevail today,” Provod told Czech national television.

 “The goals we conceded did not come after well put together attacks, but we have to acknowledge Portugal’s quality. The (goals) came from the enormous pressure.”