Portugal move into first place in their Nations League group with a comfortable win over Czech Republic. Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes scored for Portugal, while Patrik Schick missed a penalty for the hosts in first-half stoppage time. Jota makes it 4-0 as he finishes off a well-placed Ronaldo assist, his first goal for club and country since April.
Goals
Patrik Schick shoots from the edge of the box but can’t find the back of the net.
The game is still tied at 0-0. The first half is over.
The players are taking a short break, while the fans prepare to sing their national anthems. The teams will be warming up in a few minutes.
Czech Republic
The national football team of the Czech Republic, also known as the Czechs or Narodak, is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic and has competed in UEFA competitions since the dissolution of the Czechoslovakia in 1968. The Czechs have previously participated as Bohemia and also as part of the Czechoslovakia, winning the European Championship in 1976.
They are second in their group behind Poland, with two points separating them from Moldova, who occupy last place in the table. The Czechs would qualify for the Euro 2024 tournament in the event of a win, but a tie or a loss would see them drop to 13 points and fall behind Poland.
This match will be the fourth for Czech Republic this year, and their seventh in the qualifying phase for Euro 2024. The Czechs have won one, drew two, and lost three of their previous qualifiers.
The team has a good home record, having won three and drawn one of their games at Andruv stadium. The away record is not as strong, with the Czechs having won only one of their five matches. The team is led by manager Jaroslav Silhavy. The national team has the nickname “Narodak”, which means “The People’s Team”. The team is based in the city of Prague. The club has a long tradition of supporting social initiatives and charities. It is also involved in corporate social responsibility, focusing on sustainable business and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The club is also committed to promoting LGBT+ equality. The club is a founding member of the European Gay and Lesbian Sports Federation. The club is a major sponsor of the LGBT+ community and has held many LGBT-themed events and fundraisers.
Key Moments
The hosts are unable to produce a shot of note, and the only other effort comes from Schick, who turns well to elude the defence on the edge of the box but can’t get his effort on target. Ronaldo is replaced by Joao Mario as Portugal seek to add to their lead.
Bernardo Silva’s ingenuity is rewarded as he sets up Manchester City team-mate Joao Cancelo to fire in the opener. Then Goncalo Guedes rolls a neat finish past Jindrich Stanek to put the visitors two goals ahead.
Cristiano Ronaldo had a late chance to double the lead before Bruno Fernandes scored in first-half added time. The Selecao pressed home the advantage in the second half with another goal from Dalot and the third came after Ronaldo flicked on for Jota, who had been without a club or international goal since April. The victory leaves Portugal top of the group with one match left, while the Czech Republic are bottom and face a relegation play-off against Switzerland. This is the first time the Czech Republic have lost at home in the Nations League in two years. The final matchday sees Portugal take on Spain in a crucial game for pole position in the group.
Goalkeepers
The Czech Republic have a rich tradition of goalkeepers. Some of their best, such as Jan Koller, Pavel Nedved, and Petr Cech, represented the country at three UEFA European Championships and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Portugal qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup with manager Carlos Queiroz and finished second in their group behind Denmark, winning three of their five games. Their first game was a 2-1 win against Turkey, which marked the first-ever goals scored by international players Pepe and Raul Meireles.
Their next match was a 2-0 victory against two-time champions Brazil, in which Cristiano Ronaldo made his first international appearance. In the semifinals, Portugal faced France and were defeated in extra time by Zinedine Zidane’s golden goal. The defeat was a disappointing end to the tournament for the Portuguese, but they still finished with the most entertaining team award, an honor decided by public vote.
During Portugal’s 1-0 win over Czech Republic in the Nations League on Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo suffered an injury scare when he collided with the goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik. The striker jumped to meet a high ball but was knocked down and appeared to bleed from his nose.
Goalkeeper Vaclik has a vast amount of experience in club and international football. He has played for FC Basel and Sevilla, making 71 La Liga starts and maintaining a stellar 1.13 goals-against average. He has also been capped for the Czech Republic national team 54 times.
Vaclik is an expert in handling crosses and has been known to dive low when needed to make smart saves. He has also been an excellent shot stopper in the league and has kept 14 clean sheets for Czechia this season alone.
He made his senior debut for the national team in 2012 and has since been a regular starter. He has also appeared in the UEFA Europa League for his clubs and has a good record of keeping clean sheets. The Czech Republic’s last match was a 0-0 draw against Germany, and Vaclik was unlucky not to have saved any of the penalties taken by either team in extra time.
Substitutions
Amid a first half that saw both teams trade periods of possession without able to make a breakthrough, the Czech Republic adapted to thwart Portugal’s advances by dropping into a deep block and flooding the middle third with numbers to suffocate the Portuguese diamond formation. The deep block thwarted the threat of Sa Pinto and Domingos in particular, who were both denied a clear cut opening by excellent reflex saves from Kouba.
The physical nature of the game became evident as fouls piled up with 26 registered in the opening 45 minutes. In the 67th minute, Latal went in heavy on Costa and was booked for the challenge. The booking would mean that he would not play in the semi final if the Czechs were to win through to the next stage of the tournament.
Czech coach Uhrin replaced defender Latal with centre back Nemecek and immediately his team began to assert themselves on the ball. A good cross from Lavelle caused trouble in the Portugal defence, and they were unable to deal with the threat of Rose’s connections on the left.
Portugal remained dangerous, and they were able to break through the deep block with a series of well worked counter attacks. A clever pass from Oceano put Jota in behind but his shot was blocked by the on rushing Kouba.
The tempo of the match increased again with both teams seeking to find a breakthrough. A superb run and cross from Oceano caused trouble for the Czech defence, but Bejbl cleared the danger.
With the clock winding down, the game turned increasingly scrappy as both sides were forced to concede a series of fouls. The referee was called upon to book several players including the imposing Jan Suchoparek and the hard working midfielder Nemecek.
Portugal coach Oliveira subbed on the attacking minded Folha for Oceano in the 65th minute. Folha was unable to add much of a spark to the game, but he looked dangerous when he broke away down the left wing. He was unable to find Coufal in the box however, and his effort rolled harmlessly wide of the post.