Portugal left it late but managed to snatch a 2-1 comeback victory over the Czech Republic in their opening Euro 2024 game on Tuesday and manager Roberto Martinez was full of praise for his side's discipline, even after falling behind.
The Czechs went in front against the run of play but Portugal kept their heads and, thanks to an own goal and an added time strike from substitute Francisco Conceicao, managed to take all three points from the Group F match.
"Today we showed heart, yes, but also a lot of discipline, we played and controlled the game and we didn't let Czechia use the goal they scored and this is the most important thing," Martinez told reporters.
"Today we showed incredible value and we showed the strength of all 23 players and the keepers who are here, and I need to thank our fans, the atmosphere they created helped us win this game."
Portugal fell behind in two of their friendlies this year, and went on to lose both games, but against the Czechs, when it really mattered, they found a way to recover and grab the win, thanks also to player of the match Vitinha.
"He was a very important player throughout all the friendlies, on the pitch and off it. We have a very competitive team and its important to have players like Vitinha who can help us control the game," Martinez said.
"We managed to concede, to be one goal down and still win the game. We lost against Slovenia after conceding the first goal, Croatia as well, but today we won."
Porto forward Conceicao came off the bench in the 90th minute and less than two minutes later took full advantage of some poor defending by the Czechs to snatch a late winner.
"Francisco is the ultimate example of earning it, he deserves to be here and he showed he's ready to help the group," Martinez said.
"A very natural player, he's got a nose for danger in the box.
"Francisco is doing what he's been doing over the past four months in his club team, but this is not easy but he showed character and worth because he was allowed to be here."
Portugal dominated, both in terms of possession and chances created, and although they were almost punished by a resilient Czech side, the manager had nothing but praise for his squad.
"Things were tough for us today but we deserved to win, and for a national coach its amazing to have a group of players that's as resilient and as caring as they are," added Martinez.
Portugal 2-1 Czechia highlights
The Czechs having to defend throughout sapped the players' strength and left them unable to generate much in attack, coach Ivan Hasek said.
"Portugal have great quality in the attack and when we were defending everybody worked as a team but then we didn't have strength to attack," he said.
"Obviously we are disappointed to concede a goal this late in the game but we need to keep our heads high," he added. "We need to get better because this was not a perfect game for us."
Hasek, in his second stint in charge of the national side, said Portugal’s attacking class threw a spanner into the Czech game-plan to push up the field.
"We wanted to be much higher on the pitch but they dominated and pushed us very deep in our half," Hasek said.
"When we got the ball we wanted to go forward and attack but some bad passes made it possible for them to dominate again. Losing the balls was our biggest mistake."
With the Czechs all defending ferociously, Hasek said he withdrew forward Patrik Schick on the hour to save him for their next match against Georgia in a group that also includes Turkey.
"Patrik Schick had to work in the defence as well so he was really losing his strength quite quickly," Hasek said. "We were ready for that. We have a game in the next four days and we need him to be ready."
Hasek also praised substitute midfielders Antonin Barak and Petr Sevcik, hinting that he may make some changes to the starting lineup against Georgia on Saturday.
One player the Czechs will need at his best is captain Tomas Soucek who arrived in Germany needing treatment ahead of the opening match but Hasek was confident he would be ready.
"Tomas really wants to play and as of now we have no notes from the doctors about any players," Hasek said.
Watch every game from Euro 2024 on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player as well as highlights and goals as they happen on RTÉ Sport digital platforms
