Leipzig: Cristiano Ronaldo can become the first player to feature at six European Championships when Portugal opens its Euro 2024 campaign against the Czech Republic. But Ronaldo is not the only danger for the Czechs, who are making their eight successive appearance. Kickoff is at 7pm GMT on Tuesday.
Here’s what to know about the match: Match facts - This will be the fourth meeting between the countries at the tournament. The Czechs won the first 1-0 in 1996, and Portugal won in 2008 and 2012. Portugal has won the last four meetings between the teams, without conceding in the last three.
- Both teams reached the knockout stage of Euro 2020, with defending champion Portugal losing to Belgium in the round of 16 while the Czechs lost in the quarterfinals to Denmark. - While Portugal won Euro 2016, the Czechs need to go back to 1976 for their triumph when the country was still part of Czechoslovakia. Antonín Panenka scored the winning penalty in the shootout against West Germany by softly dinking the ball through the middle while the goalkeeper dived to the side.
Other players like Spain’s Sergio Ramos have since tried their luck scoring "Panenka” penalties. - Spanish coach Roberto Martínez was in charge of the Belgium team that knocked Portugal out of the last edition. He’s now the Portugal coach, and his team eased through qualifying for Euro 2024 as the only team to win every game.
Martínez’ side scored 36 goals and conceded only two as it qualified with three .
