Group F predictions: Ronaldo's Portugal set for another title tilt

Roberto Martinez's appointment as Portugal coach in January 2023 came as something of a surprise given his role in Belgium's disappointing World Cup campaign just a couple of months earlier.

However, Martinez did not put a foot wrong in Euro 2024 qualifying, leading Portugal to ten wins out of ten against Group J opponents Slovakia, Luxembourg, Iceland, Bosnia and Liechtenstein.

They scored 36 goals and conceded only two in those games and that kind of ruthlessness makes them worthy favourites to finish above Turkey, the Czech Republic and European Championship debutants Georgia in Group F.

Portugal produced one of the best performances of the 2022 World Cup, thrashing Switzerland 6-1 in the round of 16 after Cristiano Ronaldo was left out of the starting line-up.

Their run ended with an attritional 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Morocco but their squad looks as strong as any in the tournament and they should be too slick for their limited group rivals.

The 39-year-old Ronaldo and 41-year-old Porto centre-back Pepe have been named in the squad alongside younger talents Rafael Leao, Pedro Neto, Joao Felix and Vitinha.

Premier League midfielders Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and Joao Palhinha are in their prime, along with Manchester City centre-back Ruben Dias, and Portugal look a cut above the other teams in the section.

Turkey should be happy with their group-stage draw and they are the most likely runners-up as they bid to make up for a dismal Euro 2020 performance.

They came into that tournament in decent form but lost 3-0 to Italy, 2-0 to Wales and 3-1 to Switzerland in their group fixtures and were beaten 3-1 by Portugal in the 2022 World Cup play-off semi-finals.

Turkey avoided the threat of more play-off heartache by winning a competitive Euro 2024 qualifying group featuring World Cup semi-finalists Croatia, Wales, Armenia and Latvia.

Their 1-0 win away to Croatia in October 2023 was a key result although clean sheets against top-class opponents are a rarity for the Turks.

Their recent friendly results have been a mixed bag with a 4-2 defeat to Japan in September 2023 followed by a 3-2 win over Germany in November and a 6-1 rout by Austria in March.

Hakan Calhanoglu, fresh from Inter's Serie A triumph, and brilliant Real Madrid teenager Arda Guler are potential matchwinners for Turkey and the Czech Republic may lack that kind of midfield magic.

Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick and West Ham's Tomas Soucek are their main sources of goals but the Czechs found the net only 12 times in eight qualifying matches.

That tally was disappointing given the modest nature of the opposition – group winners Albania, Poland, Moldova and the Faroe Islands, who were on course for a 0-0 draw in Plzen before Soucek's 76th-minute penalty.

The Czechs made the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 despite scoring only six goals in five matches – two of them after the Netherlands had been reduced to ten men in the last 16 – and they may be eclipsed by Turkey.

All eyes will be on Napoli ace Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to inspire Georgia, whose only wins in qualifying Group A came against bottom side Cyprus.

They emerged victorious from Path C of the playoffs but a 2-0 semi-final win over Luxembourg and a penalty-shootout success against Greece, after a goalless 120 minutes, do not suggest they can upset the odds at the finals.