Francisco Conceição came off the bench to score a dramatic stoppage-time winner, securing Portugal’s thrilling 2-1 victory over Czechia in their Euro 2024 Group F opener. On a milestone day, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to feature in six European Championships, while Pepê, at 41, set a record as the oldest participant. Despite falling behind to a stunning Lukás Provod strike, Portugal equalized through an own goal by Robin Hranác. Conceição’s late heroics ensured Portugal kick-started their campaign on a high, showcasing their depth and resilience.
Francisco Conceição’s Stoppage-Time Heroics Secure Portugal’s Euro 2024 Win Over Czechia
Francisco Conceição came off the bench to grab a stoppage-time winner as Portugal kick-started their Euro 2024 campaign with an edgy 2-1 Group F win over a dogged Czechia on Tuesday.
### Portugal Celebrates Milestones
Portugal’s win came on a day when the nation hit two Euro milestones right from kickoff: Cristiano Ronaldo became the first to play in six European Championships, and his teammate Pepê, 41, the oldest.
### Conceição’s Moment of Glory
However, it was the 21-year-old Conceição who was the hero of the day, pouncing on a mistake from Robin Hranác to fire home from close range in the third minute of added time. This came moments after Portugal were left crestfallen when a Diogo Jota effort was chalked off by VAR for offside.
“Francisco Conceição is the ultimate example of earning it,” said Portugal manager Roberto Martinez. “He deserves to be here and he’s showing it to the group. Francisco is a very mature player. He plays vertically, he’s got a nose for danger in the box. For a national team coach, having a player who showed what he showed, this is very important.”
### Czechia’s Surprise Lead
The Czechs had stunned the Portuguese fans packed inside the Leipzig Stadium when they took the lead out of the blue in the 62nd minute as Lukás Provod’s superb curling effort threatened to cause an almighty upset.
### Portugal’s Response and Victory
Yet the unfortunate Hranac scored an own goal seven minutes later to set up a frantic finish that saw Portugal claim the three points to leave them level in the group with Turkey, who beat Georgia 3-1 earlier on Tuesday.
After scoring his decisive goal, Porto attacker Conceição wheeled away in delight and was booked for taking off his jersey. His goal comes almost 24 years to the day since his father, Sérgio Conceição, scored a hat trick to knock defending champion Germany out of Euro 2000.
### A Challenging Match for Portugal
The Czech match was meant to be a walk in the park for highly fancied Portugal, who came into the tournament on the back of a flawless qualifying campaign in which they won all 10 matches, scoring 36 goals and conceding twice.
But as is so often the way in tournaments, the script needed a hasty rewrite. Portugal predictably dominated the ball as they set up camp in Czech territory early on, but they came up against some dogged resistance as Ivan Hasek’s disciplined side kept them largely at arm’s length.
### Limited Opportunities for Portugal
For all their possession, Portugal’s chances were limited. Rafael Leão was their most creative outlet with his jinking runs down the left flank, although one theatrical dive earned him a first-half booking.
Ronaldo was predictably at the centre of most of Portugal’s attacks, passing up their best chance of the first half when he was played through on goal by Bruno Fernandes only to be thwarted by keeper Jindrich Stanek, who spread himself brilliantly to stop the striker’s effort.
### Czechia’s Shock Lead
Out of absolutely nowhere, the Czechs worked the ball down the pitch and Vladimír Coufal fed Provod, who curled a stunning finish beyond the reach of keeper Diogo Costa into the net.
### Portugal’s Equalizer and Conceição’s Winner
The advantage, however, was short-lived as Portugal drew level with more than a little good fortune. A cross to the back post was headed towards goal by Nuno Mendes, but Stanek’s save ricocheted off the knee of defender Hranac into his own net.
Portugal thought they had snatched victory when Ronaldo headed against the post and Jota was on hand to convert the rebound, but VAR swiftly ruled Ronaldo was a fraction offside.
It did not matter, however, as Hranac made a mess of his attempted clearance and Conceição nipped in to fire home, leaving Martinez to highlight the strength in depth his Portuguese side has.
### Martinez Praises Team Depth
“[Depth is] a strength and a weakness on its own. If you don’t use it well, you can become 26 individuals trying to show what they can do,” Martinez said. “What was important today is we played a very good game. If you look at the stats at the end of the game, it shows 70 percent possession. We had to defend very, very well.
“This Czech team, they only had one shot on target because we worked really hard. We had 13 corners, zero for Czechia. So, what pleases me the most is that we were a team. Yes of course it is made of 26 individualistic players but I think it shows the structure, the formation in Portugal. It is a country of 10 million but we have got a huge amount of players playing in the top five leagues.”
