Berlin, July 14, 2024, Olympic Stadium. To be there at the decision, the Portuguese team met yesterday two of the first three opponents (the other will not be known until March) that they will face in the group stage, initial obstacles on a journey that is only expected to end in the capital of Germany, for the third time as the hosting country (it was already so in 1988, as RFA, and in the multinational edition was only played in 2021, with Munich hosting four matches).

After a musical start to the ceremony at the Elbphilharmonie, on the banks of the River Elbe, in Hamburg, one of the host cities of the competition, with the Portuguese Pedro Pinto co-presenting the ceremony and the former Italian goalkeeper Buffon carrying the trophy that is at stake from June 14, the verdict came around 6 p.m.: Portugal will have to face the Czech Republic, Turkey and an opponent that will come from the final phase of the League of Nations: Greece, Georgia, Luxembourg or Kazakhstan.

It cannot be said that it is a particularly complicated group, especially since the top two and the four best teams in third place qualify, but the two well-known rivals are experienced teams and capable of disrupting the lives of Martínez’s men , especially when they’re not inspired. It could have been a little better, but also a lot worse, with Portugal avoiding teams like Italy (defending champions) and the Netherlands, who were in lower pots.

After a qualification that was almost perfect, with many wins and a record number of goals scored (36, compared to only two goals conceded), many people underestimated the performance due to the apparent fragility of the group, but three of the eliminated teams were still able to reach the final reaching the League of Nations stage (only Liechtenstein is out) – now it’s time to prove the excellence often demonstrated in qualifying. The goal was outlined by coach Roberto Martínez, in an interview with the Spanish daily “Marca”, “to win the European Championship”. Not only for the sporting glory, the most important thing, but also because the cash prize is not unimportant: the winner is worth around 28 million euros (depending on the performance in the group stage, where the victory is worth a million). and the middle draw).

Martínez satisfied

After following the draw – where former international Ricardo Quaresma also played his role, alongside names such as Brian Laudrup, Matuidi, David Silva, Sneijder or Khedira – alongside João Vieira Pinto, the selector said he was “satisfied”. “This format is unpredictable, there are three teams that qualify and then it is more difficult to know which way to go. For the Portuguese it is good news to play in the middle zone because we are close to many Portuguese fans. We play in the Dortmund, Leipzig stadiums and Schalke gives 04 and Group F an extra period to prepare for the first match and that is important for us,” he said, quoted on the FPF website.

As for the opponents, he found them “always difficult”: “Playing with a team that has made it to the play-offs is always complicated. The Czech Republic doesn’t have a coach, so it’s an unknown, but they have high-level players and they Play with objectivity. Turkey, on the other hand, won a group against opponents such as Croatia and Wales. It is a very good mix of individual talent and experience that makes the team very competitive.”

About the other four potential opponents, he said they were “different.” “In modern football we need tactical flexibility and we need to create more concepts to be prepared. It’s not the opponent that counts, it’s what we can do,” he added.

Considering that the strength of the team “lies in the dressing room”, the Spanish coach is counting on the March training camp to finalize the selection list for the final and have “a perfect preparation”. advantage” for this stage of the tournament.

Finally, it should be noted that, if Portugal wins Group F, the country will face a third-placed team (from Group A, B or C) on July 1 in Frankfurt. If they finish second, they will play the winner of Group D (predictably France) in Leipzig on July 2, while if they finish third and qualify they could face the first team in Group A (June 30, in Cologne), or the best of Group C (June 30, in Gelsenkirchen).

Analysis of rivals: two acquaintances and a stranger who could be the ‘cursed’ Greece

Czech Republic

Second in qualifying group E, behind Albania (with the same points), it cannot be said that the Czech team is at a powerful moment in its history. With four wins (three of them at home), three draws and one defeat, the team is even without a coach (Jaroslav Silhavý resigned on November 20 after much criticism, even from fans – and a scandal where players were caught at a party less than 48 hours before the decisive match), so it is currently difficult to predict how he will perform in Germany. During qualifying, the team usually played with a row of three central players (in 3x4x1x2 or 3x4x3).

Historically, Portugal has a major advantage in confrontations with the Czechoslovakians, unlike what happened with Czechoslovakia’s ‘predecessors’. Five games, with four wins and a very painful defeat: the 1996 European Championship, thanks to the famous ‘hat from Poborský to Vítor Baía. But history did not repeat itself in 2008 and 2012 and will hardly repeat itself next year against a team with few strong names (Soucek, from West Ham, will be the best known; Jurasek, from Benfica, the best known among Portuguese fans).

Turkey

As winners of Group D, with 17 points (one more than Croatia), Turkey could be the toughest nut to crack in the group stage. With a more technical team than the Czechs and the traditional determination that their teams normally show on the field, the Turks even changed coaches for the decisive matches, with Italian Vicenzo Montella replacing German Stefan Kuntz after a home draw against Armenia. What is certain is that the team went on a winning streak (even beating the Euro host team in one match, in addition to the victory in Croatia) and only failed to beat Wales in the final round, still reaching the point where guaranteed them first place. place thanks to a penalty converted by Yazici, Paulo Fonseca’s student in Lille. Montella bets on a 4x2x3x1 and has names such as Kökçü, midfielder of Benfica, captain Çalhanoglu of Inter, or central Söyüncü, of Atlético Madrid, and it remains to be seen whether the promise Arda Guler (Real Madrid), of whom much is expected, you will recover from the physical problems that are bothering you. However, the balance between the clashes is clearly in favor of Portugal, with seven wins and two defeats, three of which came in the closing stages.

Georgia, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan or Greece

To conclude the first phase, the unknown remains: Roberto Martínez’s team will face the winner of path C of the League of Nations. Main favorite? Greece, owned by Uruguayan Gustavo Poyet, who finished qualifying in third place in their group behind France (with whom they drew in the final round) and the Netherlands – in fact they only won against Ireland and Gibraltar, which wasn’t a big business card. Yet he is the most formidable opponent for Portugal, who usually do not get along well with the Greeks: they have four wins against five defeats in fourteen games (including the two costly defeats at the 2004 European Championship). the naturalized Zeca They already played in Portugal, in a team that also includes Tsimikas (Liverpool), Bakasetas (Trabzonspor) and Pavlidis (AZ Alkmaar).

The second most likely opponent is Georgia, which could play both playoff games at home. With the Frenchman Willy Sagnol at the helm and the “Neapolitan” star Kvaratskhelia as figurehead, the team plays 5x3x2 and finished in a lowly fourth place in qualifying group A, only winning the two games against Cyprus, but had a good campaign in the Nations League. him the chance to be in Germany. Against Portugal: one match, one defeat.

That leaves Luxembourg and Kazakhstan. Luc Holz’s “red lions” were in the Portuguese group and were “sent out” without objection or annoyance with two beatings (6-0 and 9-0), but perhaps they can count on the contribution of former Lusitanian under-21 international Dany Mota and they even had an interesting rest of the season in qualifying, with 17 points won and even a looming second place. And never forget that it was the opponent that Eusébio made his debut with a defeat, although the balance is extremely positive for the national team (18 wins and a draw in 20 matches). The Kazakhs emerge as the possibly lesser-known rival: Alip (Zenit) and Dinov (Besiktas) are the headliners of the team led by Russian Magomed Adiyev who jokingly scored 18 points in the qualifying phase, equivalent to six wins, one of them against Denmark. But the three times they played Portugal they suffered three defeats, the last 2-1 in 2007, with goals from Makukula and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Spain in the group of death with Italy and Croatia. France faces the Netherlands

And the group of death is… B, consisting of Spain, Croatia, Italy and outsider Albania. In the same group were the current champions Italy, third in third place in 2020 and which won the 2008 and 2012 editions, Spain and also Croatia, which despite not having a title, has already shown its value, especially in the World Cups – third place last year in Qatar and second in the 2018 edition.

Spain and Italy are old acquaintances. It will be the eighth meeting between the two teams at the European Championships: 0-0 in 1980, 1-0 for Italy in 1988, 0-0 in 2008 (beat Spain in the penalty shoot-out), 1-1 and 4- 1 in 2012 (Spanish victory in the final played in Kiev), another 2-0 for Spain in 2016 and finally the semi-finals of Euro2020, which ended 1-1 at Wembley but left the Italians smiling on penalties. In total, spread across all competitions, there are 40 matches, with 15 Spanish victories, 13 draws and 12 Italian victories.

Group A includes hosts Germany, Scotland, Switzerland and Hungary, and the opening match of the European Championship, on June 14, will be a Germany-Scotland match. From the start you could say that the Germans started as favourites, but the final results were somewhat discouraging.

Group C will initially be dominated by England, who are still looking for their first European title. Denmark, surprising champions in 1992, promises to compete in a group that also includes Serbia and Slovenia.

Group D is not deadly, but close, with France and the Netherlands. The French, champions of Europe in 1984 and 2000, and of world champions in 1998 and 2018, start as favorites, but Clockwork Orange is always complicated. Then there’s Austria and the winner of Path A of the play-offs.

Like Portugal, Belgium ended up in a seemingly accessible group (E), with Slovakia, Romania and the winner of path B of the play-offs.