Czech Republic 0-4 Portugal: Dalot and Fernandes on target in resounding win

By Sports Desk September 24, 2022

Diogo Dalot struck twice as Portugal crushed the Czech Republic 4-0 in Prague to go top of Group A2 in the Nations League.

The Manchester United full-back opened the scoring after 33 minutes, with club-mate Bruno Fernandes doubling Portugal's lead before Patrik Schick smashed a penalty over the bar following a VAR call at the end of the first half.

Dalot scored again shortly after the break, and Diogo Jota added gloss to the scoreline late on.

The result moved Portugal above Spain in the standings with one round of games left to play.

Antonin Barak wasted the best chance for the hosts on the half-hour mark as he headed wide, and he would rue his error when Dalot broke the deadlock from close range after Rafael Leao prevented the ball from going out of play by cutting back into the middle.

A dramatic end to the opening half saw Fernandes volley home Mario Rui's cross to double Portugal's lead, before Cristiano Ronaldo was penalised for handball at the other end, the VAR intervention resulting in a penalty that Schick wasted.

Any hopes of a comeback for the Czech Republic suffered a significant dent six minutes after the restart, Dalot netting his second of the game when he curled home a low effort from outside the penalty area.

Further opportunities were few and far between, but there was time for Portugal to extend their lead further, Jota heading home following a corner in the 82nd minute.

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    Although Hungary agreed to play on, the Netherlands ran out comfortable 4-0 winners to book their place in the Nations League quarter-finals.

    Wout Weghorst and Cody Gakpo were on target from the penalty spot during the first half, while goals from Denzel Dumfries and Teun Koopmeiners after the break saw the Oranje secure second place in Group A3.

    And Van Dijk paid tribute to his side's opponents.

    "That was quite a shock, of course," he told NOS. "You see someone lying down, you see someone shaking. That is quite scary. But thankfully, at a certain point, it became clear that he was stable. I hope he is doing well and that he recovers quickly.

    "They had to decide whether they wanted to continue playing. I think it shows a lot of strength that they did carry on. I have a lot of respect for that."

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    "In the end, we won deservedly and that's the most important thing. We go to the quarter-finals, we win, we keep a clean sheet."

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    "We have no injuries from the game and our counter-pressing was extraordinarily good," Nagelsmann said after the game. 

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    Data Debrief: Total dominance

    Madrid will have felt fairly confident coming into this game after a strong start to their season, but they once again failed to find a way past their Clasico rival.

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