Portugal’s national side has seen plenty of change since winning Euro 2016 in France, but their goal this summer remains the same as it is in every tournament – return home with the trophy.
Roberto Martinez has replaced Fernando Santos as the manager of A Seleção, with a slew of new players blooded into the team from across the country’s best club sides, including Porto, Benfica and Sporting.
Nevertheless, several of the team’s stalwarts remain, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and even 41-year-old centre-back Pepe. This is a Portuguese side that, on paper at least, is the most talented and balanced that they’ve had in decades, and Euro 2024 provides an excellent opportunity to add to a frankly disappointing international trophy cabinet.
One side joining Ronaldo and co. in Group F is Georgia, who are taking part in their first ever international tournament after beating Greece on penalties in the qualification play-offs. Led by Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, they’ll be hoping to make their own unique mark on the tournament.
The other two teams in Group F are a couple of European Championship mainstays. The Czech Republic, who won the tournament as Czechoslovakia in 1976, should have a strong enough squad to fight for qualification through the group stages, having reached the quarter-finals last time out.
Meanwhile, Turkey will be hoping to make a statement after finishing bottom of their group in Euro 2020. A squad containing Real Madrid wonderkid Arda Guler and established European players such as Hakan Calhanoglu and Orkun Kokcu should have enough to qualify for the knockout rounds. They’ll be hoping to emulate their performance at Euro 2008, where they managed to get to the semi-finals before being beaten by this year’s hosts, Germany.
Here’s everything you need to know about Group F:
Squads for Euro 2024
Portugal:
Goalkeepers: Rui Patricio (AS Roma), Jose Sa (Wolves), Diogo Costa (Porto)
Defenders: Nelson Semedo (Wolves), Antonio Silva (Benfica), Danilo Pereira (PSG), Joao Cancelo (FC Barcelona), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Pepe (Porto), Goncalo Inacio (Sporting), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Nuno Mendes (PSG)
Midfielders: Joao Palhinha (Fulham), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Matheus Nunes (Manchester City), Ruben Neves (Al Hilal), Vitinha (PSG), Joao Neves (Benfica), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Forwards: Goncalo Ramos (PSG), Joao Felix (Barcelona), Rafael Leao (AC Milan), Francisco Conceicao (Porto), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr), Diogo Jota (Liverpool), Pedro Neto (Wolves)
Czech Republic:
Goalkeepers: Jindrich Stanek (Slavia Prague), Vitezslav Jaros (Sturm Graz),Matej Kovar (Bayer Leverkusen)
Defenders: Vladimir Coufal (West Ham United), Tomas Holes (Slavia Prague), David Zima (Slavia Prague), Ladislav Krejci (Sparta Prague), David Jurasek (Hoffenheim), Robin Hranac (Viktoria Plzen), Tomas Vlcek (Slavia Prague), Martin Vitík (Sparta Prague)
Midfielders: Tomas Soucek (West Ham), Antonin Barak (Fiorentina), David Doudera (Slavia Prague), Michal Sadilek (Twente), Lukas Provod (Slavia Prague), Vaclav Cerny (VfL Wolfsburg), Ondrej Lingr (Feyenoord), Marej Jurasek (Slavia Prague), Pavel Sulc (Viktoria Plzen), Lukas Cerv (Viktoria Plzen)
Forwards: Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen), Adam Hlozek (Bayer Leverkusen), Jan Kuchta (Sparta Prague), Mojmir Chytil (Slavia Prague), Tomas Chory (Viktoria Plzen)
Turkey:
Goalkeepers: Mert Gunok (Beşiktaş), Ugurcan Cakir (Trabzonspor), Altay Bayindir (Manchester United)
Defenders: Zeki Celik (Roma), Merih Demiral (Al-Ahli), Mert Muldur (Fenerbahçe), Ferdi Kadioglu (Fenerbahçe), Abdulkerim Bardakci (Galatasaray), Samet Akaydin (Panathinaikos), Ahmetcan Kaplan (Ajax)
Midfielders: Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan), Kaan Ayhan (Galatasaray), Okay Yokuslu (West Bromwich Albion), Orkun Kokcu (Benfica), Salih Ozcan (Borussia Dortmund), Ismail Yuksek (Fenerbahçe), Arda Guler (Real Madrid)
Forwards: Cenk Tosun (Besiktas), Yusuf Yazici (Lille), Irfan Kahveci (Fenerbahçe), Kerem Akturkoglu (Galatasaray), Baris Alper Yilmaz (Galatasaray), Yunus Akgun (Leicester City), Kenan Yildiz (Juventus), Semih Kilicsoy (Besiktas), Bertug Yildirim (Rennes)
Georgia:
Goalkeepers: Giorgi Loria (Dinamo Tbilisi), Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia), Luka Gugeshashvili (Qarabag)
Defenders: Guram Kashia (Slovan Bratislava), Otar Kakabadze (Cracovia), Solomon Kvirkvelia (Al-Okhdood), Lasha Dvali (Apoel), Jemal Tabidze (Panetolikos), Luka Lochoshvili (Cremonese), Giorgi Gocholeishvili (Shakhtar Donetsk), Giorgi Gvelesiani (Persepolis)
Midfielders: Gabriel Sigua (Basel), Nika Kvekverskiri (Lech Poznan), Otar Kiteishvili (Sturm Graz), Saba Lobzhanidze (Atlanta United), Zuriko Davitashvili (Bordeaux), Giorgi Chakvetadze (Watford), Levan Shengelia (Panetlikos), Giorgi Tsitaishvili (Dinamo Batumi), Anzor Mekvabishvili (Universitatea Craiova), Giorgi Kochorashvili (Levante), Sandro Altunashvili (Wolfsberger AC)
Forwards: Giorgi Kvilitaia (Apoel), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli), Budu Zivzivadze (Karlsruher SC), Georges Mikautadze (Metz)
Fixtures
18 June
17:00 Turkey vs Georgia (Dortmund)
20:00 Portugal vs Czech Republic (Leipzig)
22 June
14:00 Georgia vs Czech Republic (Hamburg)
17:00 Turkey vs Portugal (Cologne)
26 June
20:00 Czech Republic vs Turkey (Hamburg)
20:00 Georgia vs Portugal (Gelsenkirchen)
Four players to watch
Portugal: Joao Neves. It’ll be Ronaldo that attracts the viewers, but with so much established talent in Roberto Martinez’s side it may pay to keep an eye on a youngster. Joao Neves has had an impressive season in central midfield for Benfica, provoking several media rumours linking him with teams including Liverpool and Manchester United. A good performance at this tournament may be the key to securing one such transfer.
Czech Republic: Patrik Schick. The Bayer Leverkusen forward wasn’t the first-choice striker for his club this season, but if he can replicate his standout performance at Euro 2020 – where he finished joint-top scorer with Cristiano Ronaldo, on five goals – then the Czech Republic should qualify, even if it is as a best-placed third team.
Turkey: Arda Guler. The young Turkish midfielder has been overlooked this season due to injury and the performance of Jude Bellingham, but he put in a few impressive performances towards the end of the season, scoring four goals in three starts in LaLiga.
Georgia: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The Georgian enjoyed a brilliant2022/23 season and played a vital part in Napoli’s Scudetto win, but the team’s disappointing season means he has faded from the European football limelight. Euro 2024 is the perfect opportunity to remind the continent of his undeniable talent.
Odds to win Group F
Portugal 2/5
Turkey 7/2
Czech Republic 11/2
Georgia 18/1
Prediction
Despite a disappointing exit to Morocco in the 2022 World Cup, Portugal will return with more experience and an even more talented squad. Roberto Martinez’s side are among the favourites to win the competition, so they should easily top the group. Turkey have the next most talented squad on paper, and it looks like a shootout between themselves and the Czech Republic for second. You can’t completely write off Georgia in their first ever international tournament, but it’s hard to see the eastern European nation causing any upsets this time round.
