Cristiano Ronaldo reacts on social media as Portugal defeat Czechia in Group F clash at Euro 2024
Cristiano Ronaldo has taken to social media to react as Portugal came through as winners over Czechia in their Group F clash at Euro 2024. While he did not get on the scoresheet, the legendary forward played the entire game and captained the side to a close-shave 2-1 win.
Ronaldo was pleased that his team could pick up all three hard-fought points against a Czechia side that turned out a more impressive showing than expected. He took to social media to praise his teammates for their willingness to fight "until the end", posting:
"Até ao fim, Portugal!!!"
It was a sub-par performance from Selecao das Quinas, who were widely expected to see off Locomotiva with relative ease. However, their lower-ranked opponents brought out a defensive masterclass until late on, when they overpowered the tired Czech players.
Domination was expected from Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, and in that regard, they did not disappoint, playing the entire first half on the front foot. A number of chances went begging, as they were not clinical when required, while their opponents could hardly get a sniff on the other end.
The second half saw the unexpected occur, as Czechia opened the scoring through Lukas Provod. It was a moment of pure quality from the Slavia Prague midfielder, as he curled an outward effort beyond the goalkeeper and into the left side to put the minnows ahead.
It was left for Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal to pick themselves up and keep going, and so they did, hounding Czechia until they equalized. The equalizer came seven minutes later through an own goal from Robin Hranac, who was unable to deal with the ball in his six-yard area.
Selecao das Quinas continued to show their ruthlessness, breaking down the Locomotiva defense to find another goal, and they did, through Diogo Jota. However, this was ruled out for offside. The Czechia players looked unable to meet the tempo of their opponents' attack, and in injury time, Chico Conceicao found the winner for the Selecao's Euro 2024 opener.
Cristiano Ronaldo breaks record in Portugal's 2-1 win over Czechia at Euro 2024
Cristiano Ronaldo has broken a record in Portugal's 2-1 win over Czechia in their EURO 2024 opener by becoming the first player to partake in six Euros. He is also the first to play in six consecutive tournament editions.
Notably, he broke the record for five Euros in a row at the last edition, and the 39-year-old has defied the odds, still going at the highest level for his country. If he does score a goal in their coming games, he will break the record of being the only player to do so across six editions of the tournament.
Portugal have to face Turkey and Georgia in their coming games, and Cristiano Ronaldo will hope he can lead the team to three wins out of three. They are widely expected to come first in their group and chase after a strong finish in the competition, and they will hope to do just that in Euro 2024.