The quarterfinal round begins on Thursday at Euro 2012, as the Czech Republic takes on Portugal in Warasaw at National Stadium. The teams last met at Euro 2008, when Cristiano Ronaldo broke a 1-1 tie in the 63rd minute and Ricardo Quaresma finished it off in the 90th in a group stage encounter.
Quaresma hasn't played at Euro 2012, but Ronaldo certainly has, taking 21 shots in three games during the group stage. He finally broke through in the Group B finale against the Netherlands on Sunday, scoring both of Portugal's goals to secure a place in the quarterfinals as the runner-up in the "Group of Death."
That got Portugal a matchup with the Czechs, who bounced back from an ugly 4-1 opening loss to Russia with wins over Greece and Poland to win Group A. Petr Jiracek had two of his country's three goals in the wins, while Vaclav Pilar scored the eventual game-winner against Greece with his second goal of the tournament.
World rankings favor the Portuguese, who are 10th in the most recent FIFA/Coca-Cola Rankings, compared to 27th for the Czechs. The pressure will be on Petr Cech and the Czech Republic defense to slow down Ronaldo and the Portgual offense and give Jiracek and Pilar a chance to lift the team into the semifinals. The Chelsea keeper hasn't been particularly sharp in these European Championships, having conceded as many goals (five) as he's saved shots, but he did earn his clean sheet against host Poland on Saturday with four saves, and will look to build on that effort against a much more dangerous Portuguese side.
He'll be helped greatly in that endeavor if the team in front of him can get off to a fast start. The two goals the Czechs scored in the first six minutes against Greece made them the fastest team to score two goals in the history of the tournament. While that feat won't be easily duplicated against Portugal, the pace the Czechs showed to achieve that lead would be a big help in the hopes of an upset.
Kickoff time at National Stadium is set for 8:45 p.m. Central European Tim (2:45 p.m. ET in the U.S.).
