Portugal v Czech Republic: Euro 2024 – live

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Portugal starts the game. If it's even half as exciting as the Turkey-Georgia match, then we're in for a treat. Let's hope to see some goals!

Despite approaching the age of 40, Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to be bursting with excitement during the singing of the Portuguese national anthem. He wore a wide smile and sang the lyrics with enthusiasm, even letting out a loud shout of "COME ON!" It seems clear that he is eager and ready for the upcoming challenge.

The lineups have been announced with lots of excitement and energy at the RB Arena. Portugal will be wearing red jerseys with green-and-black details, while Czechia will be in white with blue accents. The national anthems have been sung, honoring Portugal's powerful ancestors and the breathtaking pine forests of the Czech homeland. Both sides have presented their flags and conducted a coin toss. The game will begin in just a few moments.

For now, let me share with you what John Moloney thinks regarding the current state of refereeing. He believes that it has been quite satisfactory, thanks to the new rules that govern player behavior towards the referee. These rules seem to be working effectively, and tonight's game will undoubtedly be an excellent opportunity to test how well they work. Without the captain's privileges, Bruno Fernandes will potentially last only fifteen minutes, and it will be fascinating to see how things unfold.

We have reached the end of the first round of team matches and so far, no game has ended without any goals. We hope to continue this trend without any setbacks. Tonight's game features Cristiano Ronaldo and Patrik Schick as the team leaders which is a promising sign, as they were the top scorers in the previous Euro 2020 tournament. Ronaldo won the Golden Boot due to having one more assist than Schick.

In the Group F match held earlier today, the following occurred…

Arda Güler from Turkey has achieved a new record by being the youngest player to score on their Euro finals debut, beating Cristiano Ronaldo who held the record for 20 years. Arda Güler, also known as the 'Turkish Messi', is 19 years and 114 days old. In comparison, Ronaldo was 19 years and 128 days old when he scored a consolation goal in the opener of Euro 2004 against Greece. As a result, the current grouping looks like this before tonight's game in Leipzig.

Both Portugal and the Czech Republic have had similar results in the Euro championships. Portugal won in 2016 and came second in 2004, while the Czechs were runners-up in 1996 and champions in 1976 when they were still known as Czechoslovakia. However, since the Czech Republic became an independent country, Portugal has won all their head-to-head matches, including a famous quarter-final victory at Euro 96 where Karel Poborský's memorable scoop decided the game. Portugal have gone on to win all subsequent encounters against the Czech Republic at Euro 2008, Euro 2012 and most recently in the 2022-23 Nations League.

Tonight, Portugal's starting lineup features Cristiano Ronaldo (39) and Pepe (41). Both players will make history during this game: Ronaldo is set to participate in his sixth European Championship finals, while Pepe will become the oldest player in the tournament's 64-year history at 41 years and 113 days old. This achievement surpasses Gabor Kiraly's previous record, who was 40 years and 86 days old when he played for Hungary during Euro 2016. Additionally, Manchester City is represented by Bernardo Silva and Rúben Dias, while Manchester United is represented by Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot.

Tomáš Souček, the West Ham midfielder, leads the Czech team as their captain. Similar to Manchester City and Manchester United, West Ham also has two players who will be starting in the game tonight: Vladimír Coufal, who will be playing on the right side of the midfield.

In Portugal's recent game, the starting lineup included Costa, Dias, Pepe, Nuno Mendes, Dalot, Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva, Ronaldo, and Leao. On the bench were Rui Patricio, Nelson Semedo, Joao Palhinha, Goncalo Ramos, Joao Felix, Jose Sa, Danilo Pereira, Inacio, Joao Neves, Matheus Luiz, Ruben Neves, Jota, Silva, Pedro Neto, and Francisco Conceicao.

The following players have been listed for the Czech Republic: Stanek, Hranac, Krejci, Holes, Soucek, Coufal, Provod, Sulc, Doudera, Schick, and Kuchta. There are also a number of substitutes available including Zima, Vitik, Barak, Sevcik, Hlozek, Chytil, David Jurasek, Kovar, Cerny, Chory, Lingr, Cerv, Jaros, Vlcek, and Matej Jurasek.

Match official: Marco Guida from Italy.

The first set of matches is ending with Portugal and the Czech Republic starting their match soon. This game is anticipated to be exciting and it begins at 8pm. Don't miss it!