Portugal’s European Championship defence began last night in front of a packed crowd in Budapest, the Seleção managing to wear down their opponents to score three times in the final stages of the match to top their group after the first round of group games.

Here’s the PortuGOAL verdict on how Fernando Santos’ charges performed yesterday afternoon.

Relief and happiness were the overriding sentiments after Portugal began their EURO 2020 campaign with victory over Hungary in Budapest this afternoon.

Coach Fernando Santos said he was surprised that Hungary sat back so much, admitted anxiety was becoming a problem for the team but insisted that all that mattered was getting the win, while Raphael Guerreiro and Danilo spoke about the importance of the first goal. PortuGOAL rounds up the match reaction. 

• Euro 2020
• Hungary

Hungary 0-3 Portugal

Portugal beat Hungary 3-0 at Puskás Aréna to get their 2020 UEFA European Championship campaign off to a winning start.

The Seleção had to wait until the 83rd minute to take the lead through Raphaël Guerreiro’s deflected strike, Cristiano Ronaldo scoring two late goals to seal the deal.

Diogo Dalot called up as replacement

Portugal’s preparations for Euro 2020 have suffered a blow with the news that first-choice right-back João Cancelo has had to pull out of the tournament two days before the Seleção’s first match against Hungary after testing positive for Covid-19.

It is a huge personal blow for Cancelo, who has just played the best campaign of his career, having been voted into the official English Premier League team of the season. It is also a setback for Portugal. Cancelo was an important component of the team as exemplified by his man-of-the-match display in the final pre-tournament friendly against Israel on Wednesday.

Under-21 right-back Diogo Dalot has been called up as replacement. Dalot has never played for the senior team, but has been a staple in Portugal’s youth teams, racking up 71 caps for the Seleção at the various under-age levels.