Turkey v Portugal LIVE: Result and reaction as Cristiano Ronaldo’s side win Group F at Euro 2024
Turkey 0-3 Portugal: Ronaldo set up Bruno Fernandes to seal the win with an unselfish square ball as the Selecao won Group F with a game to spare
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Portugal cruised to a 3-0 win against Turkey and booked their spot in the Euro 2024 last 16 as Group F winners thanks to a Bernardo Silva strike, an own-goal by Samet Akaydin and a Bruno Fernandes tap-in.
Silva scored his first goal in a major international tournament in the 21st minute when a cross from Nuno Mendes deflected off a Turkish defender to find the Manchester City forward ghosting alone in the area, who then smashed it past the goalkeeper to put the Portuguese ahead.
Seven minutes later, Turkish defender Akaydin made a comical mistake as he tried to play the ball back to his goalkeeper who was out of position and there was nothing he could to stop it from rolling into the net despite their desperate attempts to keep it out.
Portugal kept dominating and extended their lead after substitute Ruben Neves set Cristiano Ronaldo free with a long ball to beat the offside line and, after drawing in the goalkeeper, squared the ball for Fernandes who only had to tap it into an empty goal.
The win lifts Portugal to a guaranteed first place in Group F on six points, three ahead Turkey in second and five ahead of Georgia and Czech Republic with one game to go.
Follow the reaction from Turkey v Portugal below - plus the reaction to Georgia v Czech Republic and updates from Belgium v Romania in the day’s late game:
GOAL! Belgium 1-0 Romania (Tielemans, 2’)⚽️
2 mins: Wow!
Lukaku is fed the ball from the right and brings it to the box. He slots a pass over to Jeremy Doku who holds it up before sliding a threaded pass back to the forward.
Lukaku’s back is to goal so he offloads it to the arriving Youri Tielemans who strikes a first-time effort into the far bottom corner.
Kick off! Belgium 0-0 Romania
Belgium get the ball rolling in Cologne. The only certain outcome from this match is the Romania will qualify for the knockout rounds if they win.
Belgium will be hoping for a better outing tonight. Kevin De Bruyne goes on an early run but can’t find Romelu Lukaku with a short pass into the box.
Belgium vs Romania
Here come the players.
Kevin De Bruyne has the armband for Belgium and knows that defeat tonight will put his team on the verge of an early exit. The Red Devils were well off it in their opener against Slovakia and are the only team yet to score in the tournament.
Can they get the job done tonight?
Kick off is up next...
Belgium vs Romania
Both sides have won five of their 12 encounters with the other two matches ending in draws. Although they haven’t met since 2012.
Which way will this one go tonight?
Belgium vs Romania
Edward Iordanescu could lead Romania to victory in their opening two games of a major tournament for just the second time in their history, after his father Anghel achieved the same at the 1998 World Cup.
Belgium vs Romania
Romania have exited the group stage in four of their five European Championship appearances.
Belgium vs Romania
Romelu Lukaku has six goals in 11 games at the European Championships – no other Belgium player has more than two goals at the Euro finals.
Belgium vs Romania
Belgium haven’t lost the opening two group games of a major tournament since the inaugural World Cup in 1930.
Belgium vs Romania
The Red Devils’ defeat against Slovakia was their first under head coach Domenico Tedesco.
The Cristiano Ronaldo circus provokes a serious question over Portugal’s Euro 2024 hopes
As one man took centre stage in a circus, a properly serious team got on with the business of convincingly winning football matches around him. Is this to be the story of Portugal at Euro 2024?
Perhaps it really is the sign of a new team that, as a goal stood at Cristiano Ronaldo’s mercy, he shockingly passed for another player to score. It wasn’t the only moment where he threw back the years. There was also the moment when he beat a defender with a step-over to cross, something he hasn’t actually done in maybe a decade.
For all that such contributions were largely at the fringes of a game, which was already won by the Selecao’s more influential modern players, there is no doubting the main event of Roberto Martinez’s side.
The Ronaldo circus provokes a serious question over Portugal’s Euro 2024 hopes
Turkey 0-3 Portugal: The Selecao superstar remains involved in Roberto Martinez’s side, but his fluid teammates could reach another level without him
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