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On Tuesday, June 11, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace against Ireland to ensure a 3-0 win for Portugal in an international friendly at the Aveiro Municipal Stadium. After a splendid performance, the 39-year-old spoke in the post-match about how he wants to start the UEFA Euro 2024 campaign for the national team in the best possible way against Czechia.
Notably, Portugal are drawn in Group F of the UEFA Euro 2024 alongside Turkey, Georgia, and Czechia. In their tournament opener, the 2016 European champions will be playing against Czechia on Tuesday, June 18, at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig.
During their last international friendly in the lead-up to the UEFA Euro 2024, Portugal put up a dominating performance in front of their home fans in Aveiro against Ireland. The youngster Joao Felix scored the opening goal of the match in the 18th minute just minutes before Cristiano Ronaldo found the post on a free kick, which could have made the score line 2-0 going into the first half.
In the 50th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo put the ball in the back of the net with his weaker left foot, curling it from the right wing into the far corner. Just 10 minutes later, the Portuguese footballing maestro scored another goal from his left, putting it past the left of the Irish goalkeeper.
In the post-match chat, Cristiano Ronaldo spoke about his preparation for the UEFA Euro 2024 and said, “I was already prepared to rest and I knew I wasn't going to play vs Croatia. I started training on the 6th and I was preparing for today. The most important thing is on the 18th, we want to start the Euros in the best possible way.”
I don't have many years left in football… so, I have to enjoy it. I'm in love with football. Every game is special, imagine at the Euros with Portugal, you feel proud... it's a dream, like when I was 20,” added the 39-year-old.
