Portugal start Euro 2008 with 2-0 win
Portugal have beaten Turkey 2-0 in the second match of the Euro 2008 championship.
Pepe and Raul Meireles scored second-half goals on Saturday night at the Stade de Genève, giving Portugal a healthy jump start towards the Group A quarterfinals.
It was the first major Portuguese match for Pepe, a Brazilian-born central defender. He scored in the 61st minute and Meireles added the second goal during injury time.
“I can hardly describe the emotion I am feeling,” Pepe said later. “We played as a real team and that’s important. I knew sooner or later we would score a goal.”
After the match, Turkey’s coach Fatih Terim commented: “It’s not easy to play Portugal. They have world-class players and they’re one of the favourites of the tournament.”
Geneva police said there were no major incidents after the match and the evening passed relatively calmly.
On Wednesday Portugal face the Czech Republic and Turkey meet Switzerland.
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