Euro 2024: Portugal Consolidate Group Stranding Lead With Convincing Defeat Of Turkiye

 

Portugal have edged towards the knockout stages after neatly defeating 3-0 Turkiye in the second game to top the standings of Group F of the UEFA Euro 2024. 

Turkiye dropped behind their opponents following Nuno Memdes' cut-back that landed just right for Bernando Silva to curled home from inside the box. The second goal followed from Samet Akaydin's own goal from a pass back the went erroneously wrong for Bayindir. 

After halftime break, Cristiano Ronaldo was positioned to scored the third goal but the striker passed the ball to Bruno Fernandez, who side-footed the ball home from close range. Ronaldo was almost caught offside but he was by Martine kept online by a Turkiye defender. 

With the back-to-back victories from the first-two games, the Portuguese side have consolidated their place in the knockout stages and stands to finished atop the group - already they have six point. They will meet Georgia in their next match. 

Overview 

Excellent football from Turkiye, energetic and entertaining, but at the back, they left too much space to much experienced side like Portugal to find the needed goals from their flops. 

Prior to the opener, after many attempts, Raphael Leao opened the Turkiye's defence from the left flank, which eventually paid off with Memdes's cut-back rightly reaching Silva within scoring range from inside the box. Likewise, miss communication between Akaydin and Bayindir gave away the second goal, which was still an offshoot of defensive flop. There was too much on the ball, enough to beat Bayinkir to the goal. 

Ronaldo's selfless approach to the game was crucial to the team's effectiveness at the front and that eased the team to quickly break into the opponents' box. Credit to Silva and Fernandes in the midfield, and the oldest player on pitch, Pepe held off the Turkiye side from capitalising on his side.