Turkiye Vs Portugal: Martinez Stresses On Resilience For Euro 2024 Success

Roberto Martinez praised Portugal's resilience in their Euro 2024 opener against Czechia, believing it will be crucial against a confident Turkiye side. Rising stars took centre stage during matchday one in Group F, with substitute Francisco Conceicao scoring an injury-time winner for Selecao. Earlier, Real Madrid's Arda Guler helped Turkiye beat Georgia with an exceptional goal.

Portugal came from behind to secure victory, but decisions loom on who starts up front, as Cristiano Ronaldo failed to score on his landmark European Championship appearance. The veteran forward has never scored against Turkey despite playing three matches against them. Only against Albania has he played more matches (four) without scoring for his country.

Martinez's side won from a losing position for the first time under his leadership and hopes his squad can show the same personality against Turkiye in Dortmund. "Today it's not about assessing this game from the technical or tactical point of view," said Martinez. "We won because we showed resilience, willpower and belief."

He added, "It's the first time we've come from behind to win [under my tenure]. We believed, we showed incredible personality. It's a game where we had 13 corners; the Czech Republic had none. If we scored early, we could have won by three or four goals. The atmosphere was incredible. Our fans did not deserve to lose this game."

Turkiye's Historic Win

Meanwhile, Turkiye head coach Vincenzo Montella celebrated his 50th birthday at the Westfalenstadion with a landmark success. Despite enjoying the moment, Montella quickly turned his attention to facing Portugal, a side they have only beaten twice in nine matches (L7), with their last triumph in 2012.

"Our dreams were very much focused on this match," Montella told reporters. "We managed to win [our first game of the tournament] for the first time, so there will be a lot of first times." A victory would secure qualification to the knockout stages for Montella's side.

Players to Watch

Turkiye - Hakan Calhanoglu: While praise for Turkiye's young stars was warranted, it overshadowed Calhanoglu's impressive display in midfield against Georgia. The Inter player completed 88 passes with a 92.6 per cent accuracy rate, the most by a Turkiye player in a European Championship game.

Portugal - Vitinha: Another midfield maestro, Vitinha completed more passes under high-intensity pressure (59) than any other player in the opening round of games at Euro 2024. Only Toni Kroos (30) made more line-breaking passes than the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder on MD1 (21).

Match Prediction

While Selecao were not at their best in their Group F opener, they found a way to win, which is what title-winning teams do. Portugal has often got the better of their opponents at European Championships, winning all three previous encounters without conceding a goal.

Martinez's side are also the only team to reach the knockout stages of the Euros at each of the last seven editions, having lost only one of their last nine group stage games (W4 D4). However, Turkiye proved they are not just here to take part and will aim to win their first two games at a major tournament for the first time in history.

Opta Win Probability

The match promises to be an intriguing contest as both teams look to build on their opening day successes.