Victory in vain for impressive Portugal

Portugal bounced back from their opening defeat in UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite round Group 1 with a comfortable win against Estonia – but it was not enough to keep them in contention for the finals.

Hélio Sousa's side had lost 1-0 to Belgium in their opening match on Tuesday, and although their victory took them into second place in the standings, Belgium's 3-2 defeat of hosts Croatia has given Mark Van Geersom's side an unassailable advantage in the standings with one match to play.

Portugal were made to wait for their breakthrough, finally taking the lead a minute before half-time when goalkeeper Marko Meerits was unable to deal with Luis Martins' free-kick and William Carvalho found the net.

It was 2-0 11 minutes into the second half when another Martins set piece caused the problems for Estonia. This time his corner was cleared only as far as the edge of the penalty area, and Agostinho Cá doubled Portugal's lead with a fine shot.

It might have been even word for Estonia when Maksim Podholjuzin brought down Fábio Nunes just past the hour but Meerits kept out Carvalho's spot kick. Although Portugal did get a third late on, Ivan Cavaleiro dribbling past two defenders and the goalkeeper to score, it was all in vain ultimately.