🔬 The Debrief as Portugal seal last-16 spot and Belgium earn first points | OneFootball

EURO 2024 saw several of the early tournament favourites in action.

Here’s The Debrief of the action from day nine.

What happened? 📝

Georgia and Czech Republic played out a 1-1 draw before Portugal secured the Group F winners’ spot with a 3-0 win over Türkiye. Meanwhile, Belgium are off and running at the tournament  courtesy of a 2-0 victory against Romania.

Player of the day 🔥

Impressive though Giorgi Mamardashvili was against the Czech Republic, someone managed to outshine the Georgian goalkeeper.

Pepe remains an evergreen figure in Portugal’s side and kicked things up a notch as Portugal put Türkiye to the sword with ease in Dortmund.

Even at the ripe old age of 41, the Porto centre-back is still performing at the peak of his powers as his stats in the previous two games attest.

It really is true what they say – you just can’t keep a good man down.

Moment of the day 😍

Scotland fans are continuing to enjoy their latest tournament sojourn in Germany and getting on famously with the locals.

That mutual respect extended to one native being treated by the Tartan Army to their homeland’s unofficial drink of Buckfast.

As you can imagine, it left a lasting impression on him!

Photo of the day 📸

A young pitch invader decided to risk it all in Dortmund for a selfie with Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who welcomed him with open arms.

Stat of the day 📊

What this means 🤔

Portugal have not only qualified for the last-16 stage but also guaranteed to progress as Group F leaders while the Czech Republic and Georgia are both still in with a shout of securing the third qualifying spot. Belgium’s first win also puts them in contention for a tertiary route into the knockout rounds.

What they said 🗣️

Patrik Schick reflects on drawing with Georgia: “This result is not good enough. We were the better side, but the goalkeeper stopped us in the first half, then we conceded a penalty and, ultimately, it didn’t go well for us.”

Portugal scorer Bernardo Silva: “We’re a step closer to our goal of winning the competition, but this is merely the first step. We were very good today. Türkiye pressed high but we controlled things, restricted their threat and found space in behind them.”

Vincenzo Montella on Türkiye’s defeat: “We played well for 20 minutes, created opportunities but were punished for our first mistake. The second goal – these things happen in football. At times we lacked a bit of boldness but that happens with players who are inexperienced on the finals stage.”

What comes next? ⏭️

Matchday action shifts to the evenings from Sunday as hosts Germany aim to secure a flawless Group A campaign against Switzerland while Scotland can seal their knockout round place by avoiding defeat against Hungary.