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Turkey v Portugal: Euro 2024 – as it happened

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Turkey v Portugal: Euro 2024 – as it happened

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An email: “I’m watching from a small village about 40 minutes drive from Wiesbaden in Germany,” writes Tom Mason. “We have no Sam Matterface here and my German betrayed me, so I thought the cheering for the first pitch invsader was for Nelson Semedo coming on. I thought he may be a cult hero or something!

“Anyway, my wife and I saw this Turkey team play Japan in Belgium in October. It was like watching a team of university students (Japan) play a team of street hustlers (Turkey). I hope they progress though. They always bring colour to the party.”

Group F: Portugal wrap up victory in the group and will be without Rafael Leao for their final game. It’s good news for Georgia, who will be hoping to take advantage of the fact that Portugal have nothing to play for, but the considerably bad news for the group outsiders is that even a second string Portugal side playing in first or second gear will take some beating. Roberto Martinez’s side has incredible strength in depth. A draw in their final game will be enough to guarantee Turkey second place in the group.

Full time: Turkey 0-3 Portugal

Group F: Portugal win the group courtesy of a 3-0 win. Bernardo Silva sent tyhem on their way with a powerful first-half shot, before Turkey defender Samet Akaydin doubled their lead with a hideous own goal. Another defensive lapse in the Turkish ranks allowed Cristiano Ronaldo to tee-up Bruno Fernandes for a tap-in after the break and from that point on the result was never in doubt.

90+4 min: Turkey win a corner and the fourth pitch invader of the evening has to be manhandled away before Arda Guler can take it. His delivery is put out for a throw-in near the corner flag. Portugal win the ball and break upfield.

90+2 min: Bernardo Silva is barged to the ground by Calhanoglou and appeals for a penalty. He doesn’t get one. The game is paused as another pitch invader runs on to the field. The players are getting seriously fed up with them at this stage.

90 min: Benfica midfielder Joao Neves is on for Portugal, replacing Vitinha. Manchester United and Arsenal are both rumoured to have their beady eye on the 19-year-old, who is not related to his Portugal teammate Ruben.

88 min: Altay Bayinder is quick off his line to deny Bernardo Silva after the ball had been played the Portugal winger’s way near the edge of the six-yard box.

85 min: Arda Guler tries to make his way intop the Portugal box with the ball at his feet but runs into traffic. Portugal break upfield and Bruno Fernandes picks out Pedro Neto, who loses the ball while trying to play it into the path of Ronaldo.

83 min: Both sets of fans rise to applaud Pepe, who spent a season at Besiktas back in the day, as he is substituted. Antonio Silva comes on in his place.

81 min: Another Turkey corner. Calhanoglu aims for Arda Guler but Portugal clear and break upfield. Another child runs on to the field to grab a selfie with Ronaldo but the Portugal captain is not as accommodating on this occasion and angrily waves him away.

79 min: Pepe, who has been immense this evening, heads a Hakan Calhanoglu corner behind and is on hand again to clear the subsequent inswinger from the Turkey midfielder.

77 min: Turkey’s decision to send Arda Guler on when they’re 3-0 down is a weird one. He didn’t start because he is nursing a groin injury and if he exacerbates that problem after being sent on to fight an almost certainly lost cause, one suspects all hell will break loose in the stands and the Turkish media.

73 min: Teenage Real Madrid sensation Arda Guler is on for Turkey, who are now forced to make their final substitution after the unfortunate Samet Akaydin is forced off with what looks like a stomach or rib injury.

He’s had a miserable evening, scoring an own goal, getting booked unfairly and now being helped off in a lot of pain by a member of the Turkey medical staff. Merih Demiral replaces him.

68 min: Portugal substitution: Nelson Semedo comes on for Joao Cancelo. A mighty cheer goes up as a child runs on to the pitch and gets a selfie with Ronaldo, before sprinting off with five stewards in hot pursuit.

He’s finally apprehended and marched off the premises, to a chorus of boos directed at the security staff from fans of both teams. Ronaldo was highly amused by the youngster’s moxie. I should add that none of that was shown on TV but who needs visuals when you’ve got Matterface on the mic.

A young pitch invader takes a selfie with Ronaldo Photograph: Leon Kuegeler/Reuters
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66 min: Bernardo Silva cuts in from the right and stands the ball up for Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s unmarked but mistimes his jump and is unable to steer the ball goalwards. You’d expect a player of his exceptional aerial ability should have scored there.

65 min: That third goal has really knocked the stuffing out of this particular Turkey. They’re plugging away but not with any real conviction.

64 min: Having been gifted two goals from Turkish defensive howlers, Portugal are looking set fair to win this game and top Group F. It means they’ll probably avoid France in the Round of 16, which can only be a good thing.

61 min: Turkey double-substitution: Kenan Yildiz and Ismail Yuksek have come on for Kaan Ayhan and Kerem Akturkoglu.

58 min: That was hideous from Turkey, with one of their defenders (sorry, I’m not sure who) not moving up the pitch and playing Ronaldo onside as, completely unmarked, he ran on to a long ball from deep. It was uncharacteristically unselfish play from Ronaldo, who probably fancied his own chances of scoring but set up Fernandes for a tap-in instead.

GOAL! Turlkey 0-3 Portugal (Fernandes 56)

Portugal get their third! Another defensive lapse keeps Cristiano Ronaldo onside as he is played in behind and with the goal at his mercy and only Bayinder to beat, the Portugal captain draws the goalkeeper and squares the ball for Bruno Fernandes, who taps home from four or five yards.

Bruno Fernandes makes it three! Photograph: Lars Baron/Getty Images
A hug from the creator. Photograph: Leon Kuegeler/Reuters
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55 min: Vitinha is tackled by Yunus Akgun over near the touchline and slides off the pitch and into some sort of bin near the Turkey dug-out. And now Portugasl have scored a third …

53 min: Turkey substitute Yusuf Yazici unleashes a shot from distance. It’s not a bad effort and the ball bounces in front of Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who saves with a minimum of fuss.

52 min: Turkey can only half-clear a Portugal corner and the ball is played to the feet of Bruno Fernandes, who advances up the inside right but is unable to get a cross in.

50 min: Debonair and sophisticated gilet-wearing ITV commentator Sam Matterface strafes us with his stat gun, revealing that only one team in Euros history has come back from 2-0 down at half-time to win. Germany overcame just such a deficit to beat Yugoslavia 4-2 back in 1976.

48 min: Portugal concede a corner, despite Pepe’s protests that he kept the ball in play. Ruben Dias heads the inswinger clear.

46 min: Ruben Nevez and Pedro Neto are on for Portugal, replacing Joao Palinha and Rafael Leao, the two players who were booked in the first half. Turkey have replaced midfielder Orkun Kokcu with Yusuf Yazici.

Second half: Turkey v Portugal

46 min: Play resumes with Turkey on the ball and we have some changes in personnel to report.

Turkey 0-2 Portugal

Half-time: We reach the break in yet another entertaining game and Portugal lead courtesy of Bernardo Silva’s opener and a somewhat comical no-look backpass from Turkey defender Samet Akaydin that beat his own goalkeeper.

44 min: Zeki Celik and Joao Palinha get booked for different offences as referee Felix Zwayer deals out more cards than a Las Vegas croupier. Three of the Turkey back four have now had their names taken and Abdulkerim Bardakci will miss their final group game against the Czech Republic. It’s half-time.

43 min: There’s more misery for Samet Akaydin, the scorer of the own goal, who gets very harshly booked for what looked to be an excellent tackle on Leao.

41 min: Portugal manager Roberto Martinez is very unhappy that Leao got booked and protests at length to the match officials. He hasn’t got a leg to stand on as his winger was caught bang to rights.

40 min: Rafael Leao takes a dive and has his name taken. It’s his second booking for simulation in two games and he’ll now have to sit out Portugal’s match against Georgia on the Naughty Step.

38 min: Having seen Nuno Mendes beaten down the right, Pepe moves across the penalty area to cut out a pull-back. His reading of the game is second to none.

37 min: Cristiano Ronaldo tries his luck with a long-range effort after latching on to a long ball over the top on the edge of the box. His effort whistle over the bar.

36 min: Portugal break upfield and Bruno Fernandes slices a shot high and wide from a decent position. He will, as they say, be disappointed with that.

35 min: Another fine tackle, this time by Nuno Mendes on Baris Yilmaz right on the edge of the Portugal penalty area. Yilmaz appeals for a penalty or free-kick but the ref waves away his protests.

33 min: Turkey try to get back into the game and Porrtugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa is forced to save an Akturkcoglu shot at his near post.

30 min: Oh dear. A Portugal attack had broken down and without looking to see where his goalkeeper was, Samet Akaydin sent a backpass his way from the edge of the penalty area. Altay Bayinder had moved out of his goal and wasn’t where the centre-half thought he’d be and despite the keeper and Zeki Celikm’s best attempts, they were unable to scramble back and hack the ball clear before it rolled over the line. Both players end up in an unseemly tangle in the back of the net while Akaydin puts his head in his hands wishing the ground would swallow him up.

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GOAL! Turkey 0-2 Portugal (Akaydin 28og)

Portugal double their lead! Or to be more precise, Turkey double it for them with a comical own goal. It’s the sixth one of the tournament and by far the best.

Zeki Celik and Altay Bayindir desperately try to keep out the terrible backpass. Photograph: Bernadett Szabó/Reuters
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