Portugal vs Czech Republic Preview

2016 European Championship winners Portugal will begin their quest for a second European crown on Tuesday when they face the Czech Republic at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany.

Portugal enjoyed a brilliant qualifying campaign, recording ten wins from ten group games, scoring a record 36 goals and conceding just twice. However, since booking their ticket for Germany, Roberto Martinez’s side seem to be struggling. They have lost two of their last five games including a recent 2-1 loss to Croatia in their penultimate warm-up game before the tournament.

But despite their recent wobble, Portugal possesses one of the best squads in Germany this summer so confidence should be high with their camp that they can mount another charge towards the title in this European Championship edition which is their ninth appearance. They have advanced beyond the group stages in all eight previous editions despite finishing third in their group on the last two occasions as they have won only one of their last six matches at this stage (D4, L1).

Given their quality, they will fancy their chances of progressing more straightforwardly in this edition. A good head-to-head record against the Czech Republic (W4, L1) also makes them favourites to win this match.

Meanwhile, Czechia enter this game in top form having not lost in seven games (W6, D1) while winning the last five in that sequence. They qualified for this tournament by finishing second in their group with a record of four wins, one loss and three draws.

Ivan Hašek’s side are appearing at their eighth consecutive European championship finals and they should be buoyed by the fact four of their last seven appearances saw them progress to the knockout stages.

However, Czechia won only once in their last six group stage European Championship matches (D2, L3), although they advanced to the knockout stages in 2021 from the third spot in their group.