Francisco Conceicao: Roberto Martinez full of praise for Portugal match-winner - 'He has a scent for danger'
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Updated 19/06/2024 at 07:45 GMT
Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez praised the "maturity" of Francisco Conceicao, after the super-sub ensured his side got off to a winning start at Euro 2024. The forward was on hand to net a last-gasp winner in a 2-1 success against Czechia. Martinez says Conceicao "has a scent for danger," but the strike infuriated opposition manager Ivan Hasek, who said he felt "angry" at the defeat.
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Head coach Roberto Martinez reserved some special praise for match winner Francisco Conceicao, after Portugal got their Euro 2024 campaign off to a winning start.
The 2016 champions did not make life easy for themselves, as they were forced to come from behind to beat Czech Republic 2-1 in Leipzig.
Lukas Provod had fired the underdogs ahead, but their lead did not last long, as a Robin Hranac own goal seven minutes later made it 1-1.
Both sides went in search of a winner, and it was Portugal who got it through super-sub Conceicao, who had been on the field for less than 120 seconds when he drove home an injury-time winner.
Martinez says it speaks volumes of the quality of the 21-year-old, that he could make an immediate impact.
"Francisco is an example of what it means to deserve to be in the team and be prepared to help the group as well," he said.
"He has incredible maturity, he has a scent for danger inside the area and he showed it.
"For a coach, seeing him come off the bench and show what he showed is very important.”
The goal was Conceicao's first at international level, and came during just his third appearance for his country.
The forward plays his club football for Porto, for whom he netted 16 times last season.
He has also spent time at Ajax, making 28 appearances for the Dutch team between 2022 and 2023.
hasek unhappy at loss
While Portugal were joyous in their celebrations, the same could not be said for Czech Republic, who came gut-wrenchingly close to an important point.
The defeat leaves them in third place in Group F, above Albania on goal difference.
It far from ends their hopes of reaching the knock-out stages, as they look to build on a run to the quarter-finals at Euro 2020.
With two games to go, Ivan Hasek's side will still believe they can reach the last-16.
But the manager was less than impressed with the manner of defeat for his side, as he bemoaned: "I was angry. We played against one of the best teams in the world and it was a draw [until injury time].
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"It was a real pity to concede in the last minute, but you saw their qualities. We didn't make it easy for Portugal, when we were defending we didn't give them that much space to create.
"Our defence worked really well even if we were really deep. We didn't want to be, but Portugal have great quality in attack and forced us back."
Czech Republic's next game is against Georgia on Saturday, three hours before Portugal face Turkey to wrap up the second round of fixtures in Group F.
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