Portugal thrash Turkey, through to knockout stage with game to spare

Portugal eased into the last 16 of Euro 2024 as Group F winners with a dominant 3-0 victory over a tormented and tortured Turkey side at the BVB Stadion Dortmund on Saturday, June 22.

The impressive Euro 2016 winners deservedly moved ahead when Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva scored his first goal at a European Championship when he thumped a deflected cross from Nuno Mendes beyond goalkeeper Altay Bayindir from 10 yards on 21 minutes.

A promising day got worse for Vincenzo Montella’s Turkey seven minutes later when Bayindir came out of his goal to collect a simple pass from Samet Akaydin only for his defender to needlessly turn the ball into his own net without looking as the back pass ended up well over the line before his team-mates could clear.

The game was finished as a contest by that stage, but the self-harming Turkey defence was cut open again on 55 minutes when Cristiano Ronaldo beat the offside trap before squaring for Bruno Fernandes to tap the third into the net to complete the oppositions’ day of misery.

Roberto Martinez’s side are through to the knockout phase with a game to spare before they face Georgia on Wednesday night while Turkey will require at least a point against Czech Republic to secure their passage to the last 16.

Talking Point: Portugal join the Euro 2024 party

Much has been made of host nation Germany and Spain’s performance in expressing themselves with genuine quality and pace, but this was the night when Portugal showed they also possess the class to make a real push for the title.

Having conquered Europe in 2016, Portugal know how to get the job done in this competition and also have the advantage of being able to rest key men in their final Group F match against Georgia before the pressure cranks up in the knockout phase.

With the buzzing Manchester City playmaker Bernardo Silva very much to the fore against Turkey, there is a wonderful sense of self-expression about Portugal that will make them difficult to dislodge.

Credit: Euro 2024