EUROS 2024: Christian Ronaldo targeted by pitch invaders for selfies as Portugal advance after 3-0 Turkey win

Staff Writers
AP
The Portuguese forward remains without a trophy after two seasons in Saudi Arabia.

There were no goals, one assist and no fewer than four selfie-pursuing pitch invaders for Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal’s 3-0 win over Turkey that secured a spot in the European Championship round of 16.

Ronaldo was the centre of attention as always at Westfalenstadion on Saturday - but not how he might have expected.

The five-time world player of the year set up his side’s third goal for Bruno Fernandes with an unselfish pass after bursting clean through.

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Bernardo Silva’s opener and an own goal from Samet Akaydin helped confirm Portugal’s progress to the knockouts, while later in the day Belgium got their Euros campaign up and running with a 2-0 win over Romania.

There was chaos in Dortmund as three fans got on the field and attempted selfies with Ronaldo. He accepted the first, but looked unhappy at the other two.

Another phone-waving supporter, wearing a Portugal jersey, got to the superstar moments after the final whistle, while security had to hold back another.

Portugal backed up their opening 2-1 victory over Czechia and have qualified with a match to spare from Group F.

In Hamburg, Georgia earned their first ever point at a major tournament after drawing with the Czechs 1-1.

Czechia dominated the opening stages and were celebrating in the 23rd minute when Adam Hlozek bundled the ball into the net at the far post.

Replays, however, showed Hlozek’s shot bounced back off goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili and in off the Czech forward’s face and arm.

Georgia were thanking VAR again on the stroke of halftime, when a review awarded a penalty for handball against defender Robin Hranac.

Georges Mikautadze scored from the spot, with Czechia equalising through Patrik Schick in the 59th minute.

Schick limped off soon after, potentially a major concern for the Czechs given the Bayer Leverkusen striker’s importance to the team and his long record of injury troubles.

The draw leaves both teams on one point and almost certainly requiring a win in their final group game to qualify for the knockouts.

For now, though, Georgia are celebrating a milestone in their football history.

“The whole country will celebrate that,” Sagnol said.

“In a very special Georgian way.”

The No. 3-ranked Belgians shook off the shock of losing to Slovakia in their opening game with a dominant performance in Cologne.

Youri Tielemans gave them a flying start with a goal from the edge of the area in the second minute before Kevin De Bruyne killed the game off in the 80th after a long clearance from goalkeeper Koen Casteels.

All four teams in Group E have three points, meaning there is all to play for in the final round of games on Wednesday.

While Belgium won, there was more frustration for striker Romelu Lukaku, who had a third goal ruled out by VAR at these Euros.

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