The match against Portugal was expected to be an interesting test for Shevchenko's men, who had not lost a single match in qualifying and had only conceded once. Ukraine started brightly with noticeably more attacking intent than in the previous meeting between these two teams. Indeed, their pressure paid off when Roman Yaremchuk scored from close range after an initial save from Rui Patricio on 6 minutes. In the 27th minute, Ukraine doubled their advantage with a Yarmolenko goal. After building this comfortable lead, Ukraine began to sit back and defend as they did in Lisbon on matchday one. Portugal was once again unable to crack Ukraine's defense. However, in the 72nd minute, Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded a penalty kick from a supposed hand-ball by Taras Stepanenko as he blocked the ball from a Portuguese shot. While VAR was not an option, replays showed that this was an incorrect call from the referee, as the ball was blocked by Stepanenko's leg, before making contact with his arm as it deflected into the air. This incident also resulted in a red card for Stepanenko. Thus, Ukraine had to play the rest of the match with ten men. Ronaldo scored from the spot, giving Portugal a glimmer of hope to rescue the game and earn a valid point in Kyiv. However, it wasn't to be Portugal's night. Ukraine won 2-1 and subsequently won the group.