Portugal 3:1 Czech; Man of the match Cristiano

Man of the match Cristiano Ronaldo declared himself "very happy" after putting Portugal on the brink of a Euro 2008 quarter-final place.

The Portuguese overcame Czech Republic 3-1 at the Stade Geneve on Wednesday to move onto six points from two games in Group A.

Ronaldo and substitute Ricardo Quaresma struck second-half goals - the latter in stoppage time - to earn the victory after Libor Sionko had cancelled out Deco's opener.

"Our main aim was to get to next phase. I'm very happy to have helped my team-mates to win," said the Manchester United star.

"I managed to score, and my goal is dedicated to the Red Cross. I'm thinking about the children and that makes me very proud."

Ronaldo acknowledged his team had struggled to assert themselves in the first half but was pleased with how they worked together to clinch the win.

"We played very well, although Czech Republic played very well in the first half," said the 23-year-old.

"It was very difficult to penetrate their defence. Portugal have played well in the first match and well again in this match as a team.

"We know how to sacrifice everything for the good of the team. We have now got a big chance but must respect our opponents because they too have a mission - they want to win as we do.

"If we carry on playing like this, we have a good chance."

Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari admitted he was surprised with the decision of opposite number Karel Bruckner to start with Milan Baros up front rather than Jan Koller.

"It was a surprise for me because we had planned to play against a starting XI that would include Koller," said the Brazilian tactician.

"The fact Baros was there didn't make life easy. We faced difficulties because they had four or five in midfield and we had two wingers so we didn't know what to do."

The victory maintains Portugal's 100% start following their opening-day win over Turkey.

The Czechs - who beat co-hosts Switzerland 1-0 in the curtain-raiser - now have to wait until Sunday to clinch a last-eight spot when they face Fatih Terim's Turks.

Bruckner felt his changes were the right decisions but just rued the fact his team ran out of gas after the break.

"I made two changes and I think they played pretty well," he said.

"Some players fared better than against Switzerland. In the first half we proved we are a good team. We know how to play in defence and in attack.

"We had more chances to score than in the first match. There were serious problems in attack in the first match and that was not the case in this match."

Bruckner reserved special praise for Jaroslav Plasil as well as the two players he brought in - Baros and Marek Matejovsky.

He said: "Plasil was excellent and Baros also proved he is a high-quality player. Matejovsky played well in the first half and had enough strength in the first half.

"In the second half, we saw the team get a bit tired and our opponents put in a perfect performance in attack.

"They did not go for counter-attacking only - they were able to make perfect transitions from attack to defence.

"They played very well. But it's not over for us. We still have the third match and we are ready for that."

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