Roberto Martinez praised Portugal's resilience in their Euro 2024 opener against Czechia, and believes that will be key to beating a confident Turkiye side. 

For both, it was their rising stars who took centre stage during matchday one in Group F, as substitute Francisco Conceicao spared Selecao's blushes with an injury-time winner against Ivan Hasek's side. 

Earlier that day, it was Real Madrid's Arda Guler who helped Turkiye beat a tough Georgia display, scoring an exceptional goal to earn his nation their first opening day win at the tournament at the sixth attempt. 

Portugal came from a goal behind to ensure their victory, but decisions will be made on who starts up front, with Cristiano Ronaldo failing 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 ever played more matches (four) without finding the back of the net for his country. 

Martinez's side won a game from a losing position for the first time under his stewardship and is hopeful 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 the head coach.

"We won because we showed resilience, willpower and belief. 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.

"Nuno Mendes in a back three? He has the physical attributes to play in a three-man defence. It's important to have symmetry in the middle block. The Czech Republic are a physical team. The important thing is not the starting eleven, but how the game ends. We showed we had prepared well."

Meanwhile, Turkiye head coach Vincenzo Montella celebrated his 50th birthday in style at the Westfalenstadion, 

While the Italian was keen to enjoy the moment of Turkiye's landmark success, his attention quickly turned to the task of facing Portugal, a side they have only won two of their nine matches against (L7), with their last triumph coming in an international friendly in 2012. 

"Our dreams were very much focused on this match," Montella told reporters following that game. "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 of the competition for Montella's side, and when asked about his chances against the Selcao's star-studded line-up he said: "Then more dreams will emerge."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Turkiye - Hakan Calhanoglu

While the praise for Turkiye's young stars was warranted, it overshadowed the impressive display of Calhanoglu at the heart of their midfield against Georgia.

The Inter man completed 88 passes against Georgia last time out, the most by a Türkiye player in a European Championship game, with a passing accuracy of 92.6 per cent. 

Portugal – Vitinha

Another midfield maestro had yet another impressive display in their Group F opener, with Vitinha completing 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 – PORTUGAL WIN

While Selecao were not at their dazzling best in their Group F opener, they ultimately found a way to win, and that is what title-winning teams always manage to do. 

And Portugal has often got the better of their opponents when they have squared off at the European Championships. Portugal have won all three of their previous encounters in the tournament, without conceding a single 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 only lost one of their last nine group stage games at the tournament (W4 D4), with that defeat coming against Germany in 2021. 

But Turkiye proved in their opener against Georgia they are not here just to take part, and will be looking to win their first two games at a major tournament for the first time in their history. 

Montella will be keen to continue his 50th birthday celebrations when he returns to Dortmund on Saturday, with the possibility of equalling their most victories in a single edition of the European Championship (two in 2008). They have only managed more at a major tournament in the 2002 World Cup (four).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Turkiye - 17.8%

Draw - 20.3%

Portugal - 62%