- What: 1st round of EURO 2024, Group F, Portugal vs Czech Republic
- Where: Germany, Leipzig
- When: June 18, 22:00 (local time - 21:00)
- Stadium: Red Bull Arena (44,000 seats)
Experts and bookmakers place Portugal among the top 5 contenders for the trophy, with some even ranking them in the top three favorites. The entire football community is eager to see how Cristiano Ronaldo performs in what is likely his last EURO.
Portugal
Portugal had an incredible qualifying campaign, facing no significant resistance. They won all 10 matches, scoring 36 goals and conceding only 2. A fantastic result! They kept a clean sheet in 9 out of 10 matches and won 5 of them by a margin of 3 or more goals.
Since spring, they have played 5 friendlies, dominating Sweden (5-2), Finland (4-2), and Ireland (3-0). However, they lost to Croatia (2-1) and unexpectedly to Slovenia (2-0).
Throughout the cycle, Portugal won 13 out of 15 matches, with 10 of those victories by a margin of 2 or more goals. On average, Portugal scores 3.27 goals per match and concedes 0.67 goals.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic had a tough time in their qualifying group, competing with Albania and Poland. They secured second place only in the final rounds. In 8 matches, they recorded 4 wins, 3 draws, and 1 loss. Their goal tally was modest – 12 goals scored against 6 conceded.
After the qualifiers, Ivan Hašek was appointed as the new coach. Under his leadership, the team played 4 friendlies and won them all, though the opponents were relatively weak: Norway (2-1), Armenia (2-1), Malta (7-1), and North Macedonia (2-1).
Prediction
The Czechs have shown decent and consistent results throughout the cycle, but there is a caveat. They have not faced any teams from the FIFA top 25 since 2022, when Portugal beat them twice in the Nations League – 2-0 and 4-0. Not much has changed since then.
Prediction xGscore: Portugal: Handicap (-1)
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