18 June 2024 , 21:15
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It's tough to drop a player with 130 international goals and five Ballon d’Or trophies - even if he is just seven months shy of his 40th birthday.
But Roberto Martinez must now decide whether his threat to Cristiano Ronaldo was real or just a soundbite for the cameras. Substitute Francisco Conceição’s emphatic close-range finish three minutes from time gave Portugal a win that their overwhelming superiority deserved.
But after insisting on the eve of the game that Ronaldo doesn’t get into his team on reputation alone, Martinez might find his No.7 continues to be the main topic of conversation. If a couple of journeymen Czech defenders can put the squeeze on your star forward then it surely can’t be long until his time is up.
Five years ago, Ronaldo would have left Leipzig with the match ball and the headlines. In 2024, he was relieved that Robin Hranac’s unfortunate 69th-minute own goal wiped out Lukas Provod’s spectacular opener before Conceição came on to win the game late on.
The stadium announcer informed the 40,000 crowd that it was Ronaldo’s goal after the otherwise outstanding Czech keeper Jindrich Stanek had palmed the ball against the legs of Hranac and seen it roll back into his goal. Even Portugal’s No.7 looked embarrassed by the call.
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Seven minutes earlier, with thunder sounding in the distance, Ivan Hasek’s underdogs struck with a bolt from the blue when Provod fired a glorious effort from 25 yards that curled away from Portugal keeper Diogo Costa and flew in off the post. Martinez never got the best out of Belgium’s generation. Little wonder he celebrated the equaliser with a furious wave of his fist.
Portugal thought they had won it four minutes from time when Diogo Jota bundled the ball home from close-range after Ronaldo’s header had struck the post, but VAR spotted that the No.7 had strayed just offside. But Ivan Hasek’s men couldn’t keep the Portuguese at bay much longer.
Francisco Conceicao fires home Portugal's late winner (Offside via Getty Images)Before Ronaldo had even stepped foot onto the pitch he was met with taunts of ‘Messi, Messi.’ He should have shut them up in a first half which saw Portugal have almost 75 per cent of the ball.
The first chance Ronaldo had to add to his international haul saw him power those neck muscles into Rafael Leao’s early cross, but the ball bounced off his shoulder and bounced wide. He was twice denied by Stanek, the Czech keeper keeping his nerve to stand up before diverting Ronaldo’s effort away with an outstretched arm before beating away another shot just before the break.
Bruno Fernandes was Portugal’s most creative force. The Manchester United captain saw one long-ranger dip just too late after taking a deflection before serving up a cross for Leao that the winger just failed to reach as he slid in at the far post.
Portugal players celebrate their last-gasp victory (AFP via Getty Images)The Czechs are inexperienced in more ways than one. Hasek has the youngest squad at the tournament and although he has West Ham pair Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal as well as Bayer Leverkusen’s Bundesliga winner Patrik Schick, the rest of his starting team ply their trade with Slavia Prague and Viktoria Plzen.
But they fought for every ball. When Ruben Dias whipped a cross in just after the break, it appeared Ronaldo must score until Robin Hranac threw his head at the ball to deny him again. When Provod struck, another shock looked on the cards - until fortune turned the game Portugal's way.