The last time Portugal met the Czech Republic was in the UEFA Nations League in 2022, when Portugal won on both legs with an aggregate 6-0 score. Roberto Martinez will hope for a victory once again when both teams meet on Tuesday in the opening group stage game of their UEFA Euros 2024 campaign.
Portugal is playing in their ninth Euros, and a win will place them well on the way to continuing the trend of advancing beyond the group stages in all eight previous editions.
However, despite those numbers, Portugal has finished third in their group on the last two occasions while winning only once in their last six matches, including four draws.
Nevertheless, they come into the championship with hot form after dominating their qualification Group with a perfect record of ten wins and an aggregate score of 36-2.
Similarly, the Czech Republic is also featuring at their eighth consecutive European championship finals and has only failed to move out of the group stage to knock out once in all of the eight times they’ve qualified.
Led by Ivan Hašek, the Czech Republic have a perfect record under their new coach, but they have just one win in their last six group stage matches at the Euro with two draws and three losses.
However, a preview of this game would be incomplete without superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who will achieve the feat of becoming the first player to play in six Euro tournaments.
Roberto Martinez believed that Portugal’s preparations went well and that its objective was clear to every player on the team.
“Czechia always plays to win. I think it will be a fantastic match for the neutral. The preparation period has gone well. Our objectives were clear. We had specific aims to work on for tomorrow’s game, and we did so. And on an individual basis, all the players, including the three goalkeepers, have done well. The team? It will be Diogo Costa and ten others. It’s important for the goalkeeper to know he will be playing.” Martinez said.
