Ronaldo didn’t score again, but he came close to another record. Portugal beat Turkey to secure their place in the eighth round

Portugal also beat Turkey in their second match at the Euro. This time Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t make it through, but that’s no reason to feel sorry for the Portuguese as they have secured their place in the eighth round. The Turks, on the other hand, must not lose to the Czech Republic in order to be sure of progression.

Turkey surprisingly scored the opening chance of the match. Kerem Aktürkoglu found a centred ball at the back post and only the defending Ruben Dias turned away the ball approaching the goal line.

Portugal made their presence felt in the 22nd minute. Rafael Leao dribbled down the left side, crossed the ball to Nuno Mendes, who sent it into the penalty area from his first touch. Bernardo Silva then found the loose ball at penalty level and gave the Turkish goalkeeper no chance.

In the 29th minute, Joao Cancelo went on a quick counter-attack. He fumbled the pass, which Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo was not happy about. However, he must have been delighted with the miscommunication between Samet Akaydin and goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, which ended in an own goal.

Immediately after the kick-off, Aktürkoglu had a very good opportunity, but his shot ended up at the feet of Diogo Costa. The Portuguese goalkeeper made several good saves, unlike in the match against the Czech team.

Portugal added another goal in the second half, but Ronaldo did not score

Within the 55th minute, Ronaldo got behind the Turkish defence, with most of the stadium waiting for a shot. However, the Portuguese megastar showed team spirit and played a pass to Bruno Fernandes in front of a completely empty goal. Portugal thus increased their lead to 3-0 in a controlled second half.

It was Ronaldo’s eighth assist at the European Championships. With this feat, he matched Karel Poborski, who also has eight assists. However, the Czech footballer needed three fewer in the tournament.

Turkey claimed a penalty in the 67th minute. Alper Yilmaz was sent to the ground in Portugal’s penalty area. VAR examined the whole situation but found nothing illegal.

Both teams created several more chances in the last 20 minutes or so, but none of them ended in goals. Portugal defeated Turkey 3-0, adding three more points to the Group F table and securing their qualification to the 8-finals.

Source: EURO 2024