Portugal set themselves up with intriguing friendlies in preparation for the European Championships. They started with Finland, in which they triumphed 4-2. Roberto Martinez’s side succeeded in their first friendly without the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Bernardo Silva.
A goal from minutes initially gave them the lead in the first half. After a lengthy period of possessive spells, it became 2. A foul on Francisco Conceição in the box turned into an advantage for the Portuguese. Diogo Jota made it 2 on the spot kick.
In the 2nd half, Roberto Martinez brought in the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Pedro Neto. A goal from Bruno made it 3. However, Finland nearly made a comeback with 2 goals from Teemu Pukki. But Bruno sealed it later with the 4th.
After they won, they got themselves prepared for the next friendly. However, they slipped up.
Portugal’s Loss to Croatia
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Luka Modric and Ante Budimir’s goals in each half gave Croatia their first win in history over Portugal. They succumbed to the hosts 2-1 in an international friendly on Saturday. However, Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo remained on the bench.
It started with Vitinha falling Mateo Kovacic in the box for around minutes. It became a penalty for Croatia. Diogo Costa Portugal’s goalie dived where Modric aimed. But he was beaten to it. The Real Madrid midfielder nailed in his 25th goal for Croatia.
In the 2nd half, substitute Diogo Jota restored the parity in the 49th minute. Thanks to a short cross into the 6-yard box from a fellow substitute Nelson Semedo. The Liverpool forward slotted it in.
Croatia took back the lead eight minutes later. Costa’s tried his best to deflect Budimir’s strike to the crossbar. Unluckily for Costa, the rebound came back to Budimir who headed it in.
Roberto Martinez on Ronaldo before the game
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Roberto Martinez replied to the inquiries on whether Cristiano Ronaldo would be a starter in the Euros. The Portuguese coach maneuvers around the question. He pointed out the significance of the 39-year-old star in the attack. Additionally highlights his influence as a leader in his team at the upcoming tournament.
Martinez replied to the reporters in a pre-match press conference.
“Ronaldo is having very consistent performances, there is no doubt that he is an incredible scorer. It is his sixth European Championship, the only one who has played in five, it is a unique feat in world football.
He continued, “We create competitiveness with 23 field players, we make decisions and Ronaldo is ready to give everything. There is no other player in world football who gives what Ronaldo can give us.”
The Al-Nassr forward is now the record goal-scorer in international football. Having 128 goals in 206 appearances for Portugal. In the Euro qualifiers, he had 10 goals and two assists in nine appearances. Allowing Portugal to a spotless record of 10 wins in 10 qualifier games.
The Portuguese thrived in the fascinating 2023-24 campaign. He scored up to 44 goals while providing assists in 45 games for Al-Nassr. It is expected that Ronaldo will lead the Portuguese forward at the Euros. And Martinez will hope he displays his awesome form.
Ronaldo arrived in Portugal on Friday after ending his club campaign with Al Nassr in the Saudi league. This is the 6th record appearance at the European Championship for the 39-year-old.
Portugal, who won six of their previous seven matches against Croatia, began their Euro 2024 Group F campaign against Czechia on June 18. Croatia face Spain in their first Group B fixture next Saturday.
Roberto Martinez on Ruben Neves
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In the same conference, Roberto Martinez spoke about the Al Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves. It’s expected that Neves will join the squad late. Which allowed him and Ronaldo to miss their game against Croatia. However, they are expected to be fit in their next game against Ireland.
Martinez said, “Ruben Neves and Cristiano Ronaldo will arrive on June 7. All the [other] players have had seven days to adapt, prepare for the Euros, and refresh their minds. The plan for the two of them is to skip the match with Croatia and play against Ireland.”
Portugal Squad Euro 2024 final 26-man squad
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Goal Keeper
Rui Patricio (Roma) Jose Sa (Wolves) Diogo Costa (Porto)
Defenders
Nelson Semedo (Wolves) Antonio Silva (Benfica) Danilo Pereira (PSG) Joao Cancelo (Barcelona) Ruben Dias (Manchester City) Pepe (Porto) Goncalo Inacio (Sporting Lisbon) Diogo Dalot (Manchester United) Nuno Mendes (PSG)
Midfielders
Joao Palhinha (Fulham) Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) Ruben Neves (Al Hilal) Vitinha (PSG) Joao Neves (Benfica)Matheus Nunes (Manchester City) Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Forwards
Joao Felix (Barcelona) Rafael Leao (AC Milan) Francisco Conceicao (Porto)FW: Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr) Diogo Jota (Liverpool) Pedro Neto (Wolves) Goncalo Ramos (PSG)
More to Come
Portugal will start their Euro 2024 journey with a game against Czechia on June 19. They will also be taking on Turkey (June 22) and Georgia (June 27) in the group stages.
Roberto Martinez will hope that his star-studded team will pull off the best results from this game.
About the Author
Ifeoluwa King is a lover of football and also a sports enthusiast. He’s been a fan of football for 20 years. Pick any topic in the world of football and sports, and you’ll find him there. For more information about him and more of his awesome content, you can visit his Twitter handle at @kng7.
