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Portugal moved to the top spot of Group A2 after a comprehensive win over Czech Republic on Saturday night. Their win boosts Portugal's chances of advancing to the final four of the UEFA Nations League after the Cristiano Ronaldo-led team won the match by a margin of 4-0 taking them above Spain. Spain lost the top spot after losing their match to Switzerland 2-1.
The four group winners in the top tier advance to the knockouts of the tournament, which is scheduled to take place from June 14-18 in 2023.
However, Portugal's emphatic victory was overshadowed by a Cristiano Ronaldo incident which left the striker with a bloodied nose following an on-field collision with the Czech goalkeeper, Tomas Vaclic. Despite the incident, the Portugal skipper was able to complete the match.
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Ronaldo's nose injury took place within 12 minutes of the match kicking off. The 37-year-old goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik went for a high ball and while Vaclik punched the ball away, he accidentally caught Ronaldo with his elbow. The Manchester United star lay on the ground following the collision and his face and nose were covered. Portugal's medical team plastered the area of the cut after which Ronaldo was able to take the pitch.
Portugal broke the deadlock through Diego Dalot who found the back of the net in the 33rd minute following a pass by Rafael Leao. The Portuguese soon doubled the lead through Bruno Fernandes in first-half injury time.
Portugal almost conceded their first goal of the match after Ronaldo was found guilty of the handball inside his own area. However, Czech Republic striker Patrik Schick failed to capitalise on the opportunity, sending the penalty kick onto the crossbar.
Dalot stretched the lead in the 52nd minute with a curling shot into the corner. Diego Jota completed the rout following an assist from Ronald in the 82nd minute to leave the 2019 winners in pole position to reach the semi-finals.
Portugal currently leads the group on 10 points ahead of Spain on eight after five matches with one game left to play.
The Manchester United forward is a key part of Portugal's hopes for the World Cup in Qatar later this year. Recently Cristiano Ronaldo had revealed that he does not intend to stop playing football anytime soon as he is keen on participating in Euro 2024 after the FIFA World Cup this year.
