Thanks to the late-headed goal scored by Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal was able to claim a 1-0 victory against the Czech Republic on Thursday, which in turn sends them into the semifinals of Euro 2012.

The first half of the match was considered disappointing for the first quarterfinal match of the competition. Early chances by the Czech Republic only came from corner kicks, which they were unable to capitalize on due to very poor deliveries.

Portugal seemed to get into the game later in the first half, when Ronaldo fired a beautiful shot that Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech was able to save with an amazing dive. The goal would not have counted if it had gone in, due to referee Howard Webb stopping play mid-pass that was not heard by the Portuguese forward.

In the final minute of the first half, Ronaldo came up again after handling a great cross from Raul Meireles. He gained control of the ball and kicked it straight into the post, the only thing that could stop him from giving Portugal the lead. The chance gave off a strong sense of determination from Portugal, who went into halftime in control of the game even though both teams have not yet scored.

Portugal came out ready to play, with Hugo Almeida missing a header by inches only a couple minutes into the second half. Ronaldo showed up yet again five minutes later with a close chance, taking a bending free-kick that struck the post again instead of hitting the back of the net.

The Czech Republic did not seem as though they were trying to take any offensive chances; Portugal controlled much of the possession throughout the early part of the second half, and the Czech’s seemed to stay on the defensive no matter what. The only real chance for the Czech Republic came in at the 60 minute mark, when Vaclav Pilar managed to speed around the Portuguese defenders with ease, only to give the ball away with a disappointing attempt at a cross.

After several more attempts from Portugal, which were all wide of the net or beautifully saved by Cech, Ronaldo was finally able to capitalize in the 80th minute after a great cross from Joao Moutinho. Ronaldo found room and headed the ball directly into the ground, which in turn ricocheted over the diving Petr Cech and into the top of the goal.

This lone goal was all that was needed in order to send Portugal into the semifinals. For a team that has never won a title at the Euro’s, Portugal heads into the semifinals as an underdog that shows no signs of letting this chance slip through their fingers.

Portugal will play in their semifinal match on June 27 against the winner of the quarterfinal match between Spain and France, which is scheduled for June 23.

Image Courtesy of  Rui Alexandre Araujo / Shutterstock.com

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Former English champions Chelsea recorded a comfortable victory at home over Belgium side Genk tonight, winning 5-0 to cement their place at the top of the group.

With the home crowd cheering them on, Chelsea got off to an electric start, and were 2-0 up in just 12 minutes. The first goal fell to Raul Meireles, the Portuguese midfielder picking up the ball outside the box, and letting fly with a precision effort which flew into the bottom corner of the goal, evading the clutches of Genk goalkeeper Laszlo Koteles.

Just minutes later and Koteles was once again fishing the ball out of the back of the net, this time thanks to a Fernando Torres strike. The Spaniard had seen the run of Frank Lampard, and positioned himself perfectly for the through ball. Torres then had no difficulty with the simple task of slotting the ball past Koteles in his trademark fashion.

For someone who had not scored previously for Chelsea in the Champions League, Torres was certainly out to make an impression, and was soon celebrating his second goal of the night. Previous goal scorer Meireles turned provider, playing in an inch perfect cross for Torres to head home and effectively secure the three points with less than half an hour played.

Despite defending in numbers, Genk found themselves 4-0 down before half-time, with defender Branislav Ivanovic getting in on the action. The powerful Serbian broke away from his marker and headed Florent Malouda’s free-kick past the beleaguered Koteles.

Torres continued to hunt for his hat-trick after the break, but to the credit of Genk’s defence, they were keeping the striker frustrated. Having looked very suspect in the first-half, Genk seemed to rally somewhat in the second, managing to hold onto possession for a significant amount of time. They even enjoyed the odd foray into the Chelsea box, however, these attacks amounted to very little, and the Belgium side looked incapable of fashioning any meaningful chances.

Chelsea’s patience paid off finally though when Jose Bosingwa’s cross was met by Torres, with the striker denied by a fantastic point blank save from Koteles, although the rebound by Salomon Kalou was asking too much of the goalkeeper, and the home side were celebrating their fifth goal of the night.

The win moves Chelsea up into first position in the group, helped largely by Valencia’s loss to Bayer Leverkusen, and the Blues will now feel confident of topping one of the hardest groups in the Champions League.

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