Chapter 699: Embarking on the European Championship Again
After coming off the bench to help Manchester United reach the FA Cup semifinals, Bruno immediately flew back to Portugal. During the upcoming international break, Portugal was set to play two matches in the UEFA European Championship qualifiers.
Although Portugal had already secured a spot in next year's European Championship by advancing to the UEFA Nations League semifinals, this didn't exempt them from participating in the qualifiers.
In reality, the qualification obtained through the Nations League is more like a wildcard—a safeguard that ensures these four teams (Portugal, Netherlands, Switzerland, and England) can still qualify for the tournament even if they fail in the standard qualification rounds.
All four teams must still compete in the regular qualifiers.
The group draw for the qualifiers took place on December 2 of the previous year. Since this edition of the European Championship will be held across 12 countries and 13 cities, there is no single host nation. All 55 UEFA member nations will participate in the qualification rounds.
The draw was seeded based on the results of the Nations League, dividing teams into six pots. The group winners of League A—England, Netherlands, Portugal, and Switzerland—were placed as top seeds in Groups A to D. The six other top-performing teams—Belgium, Croatia, France, Italy, Poland, and Spain—completed the remaining top-seed spots in the other groups.
Ultimately, the 55 teams were divided into 10 groups: five groups of five teams and five groups of six. The top two teams from each group, totaling 20, will directly qualify for the tournament.
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If the Nations League A group winners—Portugal, Netherlands, Switzerland, and England—fail to finish in the top two of their groups, they will occupy one of the four additional qualifying spots.
If all four teams finish in the top two, the remaining slots will be contested by the 10 third-placed teams and the six best fourth-placed teams through two rounds of playoffs.
If one or more of the Nations League A group winners fail to qualify directly, the playoff structure will be adjusted accordingly.
If, by an unlikely chance, all four fail to finish in the top two, they will automatically take the four additional spots, making playoffs unnecessary. However, given the strength of these four teams, such an outcome is highly improbable.
Several rules and constraints were followed during the draw process. For example:
No group could include more than three of the potential host nations.Certain politically sensitive matchups, like Gibraltar vs. Spain or Kosovo vs. Serbia, were avoided.Due to cold weather conditions, matches involving teams like the Faroe Islands, Finland, and Iceland were not scheduled for March or November.To minimize travel fatigue, no group could include more than one team requiring long-haul travel, such as Iceland or Azerbaijan.
Portugal was drawn into Group B as the top seed, alongside Ukraine, Serbia, Lithuania, and Luxembourg.
For Portugal, this was an ideal draw. Ukraine and Serbia posed some challenges, but Lithuania and Luxembourg were considered weaker teams, likely to serve as goal-scoring opportunities for the stronger teams in the group.
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During the international break, Portugal faced two crucial matches against Ukraine and Serbia, their main competitors in the group.
Portugal could theoretically underperform in the qualifiers and still make the tournament thanks to their Nations League safety net. However, doing so would be humiliating.
As the top-ranked team in the world, having won the European Championship, the Confederations Cup, and the World Cup in the past three years, Portugal had a reputation to uphold. A group-stage flop would be an embarrassment on the global stage.
Portugal took the qualifiers seriously, recalling Cristiano Ronaldo to the national team after a six-month absence.
In the first match against Ukraine, coach Fernando Santos fielded a strong starting lineup:
Goalkeeper: Rui PatrícioDefenders: João Cancelo, Pepe, Rúben Dias, Raphaël GuerreiroMidfielders: Rúben Neves, William Carvalho, Bruno FernandesForwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, André Silva, Bernardo Silva
Ukraine, coached by Andriy Shevchenko, lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation:
Goalkeeper: PyatovDefenders: Karavayev, Kryvtsov, Matviyenko, MykolenkoMidfielders: Stepanenko (holding), Marlos, Zinchenko, Malinovskyi, KonoplyankaForward: Yaremchuk
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Portugal quickly asserted dominance, creating waves of attacks that frequently tested Ukraine's defense. However, Ukraine's defensive organization was strong, limiting Portugal's chances.
The first half ended in a goalless stalemate.
Early in the second half, Portugal finally broke the deadlock.
In the 63rd minute, Bruno set up Ronaldo with a selfless pass in front of goal, allowing Ronaldo to score the opener. Despite having a good shooting position himself, Bruno opted to pass to the better-positioned Ronaldo. After scoring, Ronaldo immediately ran to celebrate with Bruno.
Ten minutes later, Bernardo Silva capitalized on another Bruno assist, scoring from the far post to double Portugal's lead.
Late in the game, Portugal earned a free kick in a promising position. Surprisingly, Ronaldo allowed Bruno to take the shot. Bruno delivered a stunning strike, perfectly curling the ball into the net to seal the victory.
Portugal triumphed 3–0 over Ukraine, securing a strong start to their European Championship qualifiers.
Throughout the match, Bruno faced intense marking from Ukraine, with coach Shevchenko designing a special defensive plan just for him. Despite this, Bruno managed to score a goal and provide two key assists, effectively leading Portugal to victory.
His unselfish decision to assist Ronaldo also earned widespread praise from the media, fans, and teammates alike.
(END CHAPTER)
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