Portugal too strong for Czechs

Portugal has become the first nation to book passage into the quarter finals of Euro 2008 after securing a 3-1 victory over the Czech Republic in Geneva today.

The Portuguese were good value for their win, dominating possession for much of the game, and goals from Deco, Cristiano Ronaldo and substitute Ricardo Quaresma were enough to see off a battling Czech side.

The Czechs fought hard for the entire game, and were in the contest until the very end, but their lack of cutting edge against the more classy Portuguese proved their undoing, despite an early goal from the impressive Libor Sionko.

Portuguese manager Luis Felipe Scolari named an unchanged side from Portugal's win over Turkey, whilst his Czech counterpart Karol Bruckner made two changes to his side that unconvincingly defeated Switzerland, replacing David Jarolim with Reading midfielder Marek Matejovsky, and veteran striker Jan Koller with Milan Baros as the lone striker.

The Portuguese dominated the early exchanges, with Deco in particular looking lively, and in fact he got his name on the scoresheet after just eight minutes.

A clever build-up initiated by Deco ended with Ronaldo via Nuno Gomes just inside the penalty area. Cech saved Ronaldo's effort, but the ball fell back to Deco, who bundled the ball over the line despite the best efforts of Czech defender Marek Jankulovski to keep the ball out.

The goal served to settle the Portuguese players into a nice rhythm, so it came as somewhat of a surprise when the Czechs equalise less than 10 minutes later against the run of play.

Sionko forced the often-shaky Portuguese defence into conceding a corner after stealing in behind Paulo Ferreira, and he was duly rewarded for his efforts as the resulting corner from Jaroslav Plasil landed invitingly for him to rifle a diving header past goalkeeper Ricardo.

Portugal immediately set about restoring their advantage, but the combative Czech backline forced Petit, Deco and Ronaldo into shots from distance, which either sailed over the bar or were easily picked up by Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Matejovsky, Jan Polak and Tomas Galasek were making life difficult for the Portuguese, as they hassled their opposing midfield into loose passes and sloppy turnovers. Up front, Milan Baros tirelessly chased lost causes, keeping Pepe and Ricardo Carvalho on their toes.

Ronaldo seemed inclined to test Cech at every opportunity, and he brought about three smart saves before the interval.

So the teams went in level at half time, and just when it looked as if the Portuguese were settling into a similar rhythm after the break, they were nearly caught out by another raid down the right.

Sionko again found space in behind the nervy Paulo Ferreira, and after being played in by Matejovsky, Bosingwa was hurried into a clearance to avert the danger. The subsequent corner was also only dealt with at the second attempt, and it became clear that the Czechs' best chance of going in front would come from a set-piece, as Ricardo in particular looked increasingly uncomfortable.

Shortly after, however, the Czech defence repeatedly allowed Ronaldo, Simao and Nuno Gomes too much freedom, and the latter nearly punished them after a mistake by David Rozehnal, but Rozehnal scurried back to block his effort. Simao was the next to next test Cech, but his shot was disappointingly too close to the giant keeper.

Immediately, the Czechs raced down the other end, and from another corner, they nearly went ahead. Captain Tomas Ujfalusi rose highest to meet Plasil's hanging cross, and his near-post flick only just evaded the lunging Baros and Sionko when only a touch was needed.

They were made to pay for the miss, however, as Ronaldo restored Portugal's lead just over a minute later.

After Moutinho appeared to be fouled by Matejovsky, the Greek referee Kyros Vassaras played a good advantage as the ball fall to Deco on the right flank. His square cross was met by Ronaldo, who first-time slid the ball past Cech's right-hand from 18 yards.

It was a deserved goal for Portugal, as their lion's share of possession finally brought them joy.

The Czechs did not lie down, though. Paulo Ferreira made a timely intervention from Zdenek Grygera's deep cross as substitute Tomas Vlcek was ready to pounce, and Milan Baros had a golden opportunity as Plasil found him with a dangerous cross, but he headed wide.

But it was Libor Sionko who had the Czech's best chance to equalise. With less than 10 minutes on the clock, Sionko found space between Bosingwa and Pepe, but his header from Vlcek's delightful cross was wonderfully tipped over by Ricardo. A yard either side and the keeper would have been struggling.

But inevitably, as the Czechs poured forward in search of an equalizer, gaping holes were being left in defence, and the Portuguese substitute Quaresma made the game safe in stoppage time.

After spurning a chance only minutes earlier, he wasn't going to waste his second. A quick, lofted Deco free kick from deep inside his own half sprang the offside trap as Ronaldo raced through on goal. Quaresma joined in, and after Cech committed, Ronaldo rolled the ball sideways for Quaresma to tap the ball into the empty net.

The result was perhaps slightly harsh on the Czechs, which now faces a must-win game against Turkey to qualify from Group A. Portugal await Switzerland in its final group game in Basel.


Ratings

Portugal
1 - Ricardo - 6 - Little to do. Looked uncomfortable with set-pieces.
2 - Paulo Ferreira - 6 - Shaky.
4 - Bosingwa - 7 - Got forward well.
7 - Ronaldo - 7 - Didn't dominate, but earned his goal in good performance.
8 - Petit - 7 - Combative.
10 - Moutinho - 6 - Struggled to impose himself.
11 - Simao - 6 - Quiet game.
15 - Pepe - 6 - Looked vulnerable defending set-pieces.
16 - Carvalho - 7 - Stable.
20 - Deco - 8 - Excellent game. Started many Portuguese attacks. Hand in all 3 goals.
21 - Nuno Gomes (c) - 6 - Didn't see much of the ball.

(SUB) 5 - Meira - 6 - Little time.
(SUB) 9 - Almeida - 6 - Little time.
(SUB) 17 - Quaresma - 7 - Managed to get himself on the scoresheet in limited time.

Czech Republic
1 - Cech - 7 - Made a lot of saves. Little he could do about goals.
2 - Grygera - 6 - Defended Ronaldo quite well. Didn't get forward enough.
3 - Polak - 7 - Worked extremely hard.
4 - Galasek - 7 - Unsung performance screening the back four.
6 - Jankulovski - 6 - Mixed bag.
7 - Sionko - 8 - The Czech's brightest player.
15 - Baros - 6 - Didn't stop running, but little reward for effort.
17 - Matejovsky - 7 - Toiled well, made some nice passes.
20 - Plasil - 6 - Dangerous over set-pieces, not much impact otherwise.
21 - Ujfalusi (c) - 7 - Assured for most of the game.
22 - Rozehnal - 7 - Some important interventions, but a bit inconsistent.

(SUB) 9 - Koller - 6 - A handful in his limited minutes.
(SUB) 11 - Vlcek - 6 - Some dangerous passes after coming on.
(SUB) 14 - Jarolim - 6 - No time.