Portugal convincingly defeated Turkey to secure their berth in the Euro 2024 round of 16 with a commanding 3-0 triumph in Dortmund on Saturday. Meanwhile, Belgium revived their tournament aspirations by clinching a 2-0 win over Romania.

Under the leadership of Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, the 2016 European champions, are considered strong contenders for the title in Germany. They validated their credentials with an emphatic victory in front of a passionate crowd, sealing the top spot in Group F.

Bernardo Silva, representing Manchester City, broke the deadlock midway through the first half. He calmly finished from close range after Nuno Mendes’ low cross deflected into his path.

Portugal then extended their advantage just before the half-hour mark in a bizarre manner.

Following a wayward pass from Joao Cancelo intended for Ronaldo, the Turkish defense seemed untroubled. However, Samet Akaydin’s attempted backpass trickled past goalkeeper Altay Bayindir and crossed the line, despite Zeki Celik’s efforts to clear.

Turkey showed little threat of making a comeback, and Portugal added a third goal early in the second half. Ronaldo found himself in a scoring position but opted to pass to Bruno Fernandes, who calmly finished into the net.

With a previous 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic, Portugal is one of only three teams with a perfect six points from their first two matches. They are assured of topping their group even before facing Georgia in Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday.

As a result, they already know they will contest a round of 16 match in Frankfurt on July 1 against one of the top third-place finishers.

“We are first in the group, and we can make changes in the next game, which for me is very important as there are lots of players in the dressing room who deserve to play,” said Portugal coach Roberto Martinez.

Ronaldo, who is participating in his sixth European Championship at the age of 39, would set a new record as the tournament’s oldest goal-scorer if he scored in Germany. However, he was unable to increase his impressive record of 14 goals in the competition during this match.

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