Portugal cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Turkey in their second Group F match at EURO 2024, securing their place in the knockout stages with a game to spare in a match that was live on NBS Sport.
It was a frustrating evening at the Signal Iduna Park for the Crescent-Stars, who struggled to match the class and composure of the 2016 European champions.
Portugal took control of the game from the outset and never looked in danger of relinquishing their grip on the contest. Bernardo Silva opened the scoring in the 21st minute, calmly slotting home after Nuno Mendes’ cross was deflected into his path.
Just seven minutes later, it was 2-0 comically as Samet Akaydin’s dreadful backpass to Turkey goalkeeper Altay Bayindir trickled over the line before Zeki Celik could clear.
Turkey’s best chance to halve the deficit came shortly after when Kerem Akturkoglu was denied by an excellent save from Diogo Costa, enabling his side to go into half-time leading 2-0
In the second half, Portugal put the game to bed in the 56th minute, as Cristiano Ronaldo unselfishly squared for Bruno Fernandes to tap into an empty net after springing the offside trap.
Despite the introduction of young sensation Arda Guler in the latter minutes of the half, Turkey failed to mount a late comeback, and Portugal comfortably saw out the victory to book their place in the round of 16.
The result extends Portugal’s unbeaten run against teams ranked outside the top 20 at the Euros to 18 matches, and they have now scored 11 goals without reply against Turkey in the competition.
For the Crescent-Stars, it was a disappointing performance that left them with work to do in their final group game against the Czech Republic.
A draw will be enough to see them through to the knockout stages for the first time in 16 years, but they’ll need to show far more quality and composure if they are to achieve that goal.
As for Portugal, Roberto Martínez’s side have now flexed their muscles and sent a clear message to the rest of the teams. They’ll hope to end the group stages with a 100% record when they face Georgia on Wednesday, June 26th.
