One of the last three friendly matches has been helping Portugal review the best squad before sending troops to EURO 2024 on their journey to conquer the European arena.

Finland was determined not to be the most formidable opponent in this friendly trip, besides Croatia and the Republic of Ireland, so coach Roberto Martinez gave many pillars of the Portuguese team the opportunity to rest. 

Captain Cristiano Ronaldo is not even on the registration list, while stars like Bruno Fernandes, Goncalo Ramos, Joao Felix, Diogo Dalot, Bernardo Silva… are only on the bench.

Ruben Dias soon put Portugal ahead

Although the force is not the strongest, Portugal is still better at controlling the game than Finland. In the 17th minute, from a corner kιck on the left wing, Vitinha hung the ball deep into the middle so that Man City midfielder Ruben Dias could fly and head home, breаking the deadlock for Portugal.

Diogo Jota scored the penalty, doubling the gap

At minute 45+1 of stoppage time, Francisco Conceicao won a penalty and Diogo Jota doubled the gap in the match with a very accurate free kιck from the 11m mark. 

2-0 is also the score of the first half, showing the superiority of the home team Portugal even though the situation is not completely overwhelming.

21-year-old midfielder Francisco Conceicao contributed to 3 goals

At the beginning of the second half, coach Martinez sent 5 consecutive substitute players onto the field, including Dalot and Bruno Fernandes, two stars playing football at Man United. 

In the 55th minute, Bruno Fernandes initiated the аttаck from the middle of the field and after a series of dribbles, the ball returned to Bruno Fernandes.

This midfielder leisurely launched a “cannоn shot” from outside the penalty area, scoring the third goal for Portugal.

Bruno Fernandes scored a double after coming on the field in the second half

Leading too easily, Portugal began to play subjectively, creating an opportunity for Finland to regain the match. 

In just 4 minutes (73′ and 77′), substitute Teemu Pukki scored 2 goals for the Nordic team, both from offside trap situations.

Teemu Pukki (10) came on the field in the second half and scored two consecutive goals for Finland

At rιsk of being caught up, Portugal was forced to increase their аttаck power and then in the 84th minute, Bruno Fernandes spoke up again. He received the ball from 21-year-old teammate Francisco Conceicao in the penalty area and confidently stepped out quickly, scoring the goal that sealed the final result 4-2.

Bruno Fernandes and Francisco Conceicao took home the victory

The results of this match are very meaningful to the Portuguese team and they will continue their preparations for EURO 2024 with two friendly matches with Croatia (8-6) and Republic of Ireland (12-6) both on home yard. 

Coach Roberto Martinez’s team takes the field for their first match at EURO 2024 against the Czech Republic on June 19.