Our prediction for this Euro 2024 match:
Portugal
Match Time & Date:
18/06/2024
21:00
Prediction: 2-1
Czech Republic
There will be fireworks when Portugal and Czech Republic square off against each other at Red Bull Arena in their EURO 2024 opener. A Selecao are seen as one of the main favourites to win the showpiece tournament in Germany, but their performance in a warm-up game against Croatia (1-2) was anything but good. The likes of Renato Sanches, William Carvalho, and Raphael Guerreiro have been omitted, but all Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Joao Felix, and Bernardo Silva made the cut.
The Czechs, on the other hand, are determined to claim a major scalp in Tuesday’s clash, but given the number of high-profile players in Roberto Martinez’s team, home win should be considered. A man to keep an eye on in the away team will be West Ham United midfielder Tomas Soucek, who has netted 12 goals in 68 appearances for the Czech Republic national team. In their last meeting at the European Championship finals, back in 2012, Portugal defeated Czech Republic 1-0, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the only goal of the match.
Highlighted Player (Cristiano Ronaldo):
Cristiano Ronaldo is considered one of the world’s best football players. The Portuguese ace was born on 5 February, 1985 in Funchal, Madeira and he played for the likes of Andorinha, Nacional and Sporting during his youth career. CR7 made his Sporting debut in Primeira Liga on 7 October, 2002, scoring two goals in a 3-0 win over Moreirense.
Manchester United scouts spotted him and one year later he joined the Old Trafford outfit. Ronaldo became the most expensive teenager in the history of the Premier League and he received the number 7 shirt. He quickly established himself as the team’s key player and it has to be noted that he won three consecutive Premier League trophies with the Red Devils (2006/2007, 2007/2008, 2008/2009). In 2008 he helped the Old Trafford outfit beat Chelsea in the Champions League final, scoring for Alex Ferguson’s troops in the regular time.
Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009 and he helped the Spanish giants with two Champions League trophies. In 2016 he won the European Championship trophy with Portugal. The Real Madrid ace has two Golden Ball awards (2013, 2014).
Highlighted Team (Czech Republic):
Czech Republic national team is the natural successor of the Czechoslovakia side that dominated world football during the 20th century, winning one European Championship trophy and coming second at 1934 and 1962 World Cups. After the separation of the country in 1992, Czech Republic continued the proud tradition by qualifying for each of the next six European Championship finals, losing to Germany in the final of the 1996 tournament.
The Czechs also reached the last eight at the 2012 finals, but their World Cup record of late is pretty disappointing. Since separating from Slovakia, Czech Republic only qualified for one of five World Cup finals. The 1996 generation, featuring players like Pavel Nedved, Karel Poborsky and Patrik Berger, will forever remained etched in the fans’ memory, while the likes of Milan Baros, Jan Koller, Petr Cech and Tomas Rosicky are some of the other notable footballers.
Highly rated goalkeeper Petr Cech is the team’s most capped player, whereas towering forward Jan Koller tops the goalscoring charts with 55 strikes in 91 games.
Real Sociedad 
Osasuna 
Liverpool
Tottenham
Valencia 
Barcelona
Leyton Orient
Man City
Birmingham City
Newcastle
Brighton
Chelsea
