As always, Cristiano Ronaldo became the headline act as his Portugal swept Turkey aside 3-0 in its second match at Euro 2024.
There was also an important 2-0 win for Belgium against Romania and a tense 1-1 draw between Georgia and Czechia.
But more importantly, there was a comical own goal, possibly the worst miss of the tournament, some VAR heartbreak and more Ronaldo controversy. Here are your five quick hits from the overnight football action.
Philanthropic Ronaldo the most generous player in Euros history
Throughout his incredible career, Cristiano Ronaldo has been known for a certain kind of ruthlessness that has at times bordered on selfishness.
Ronaldo, the most prolific scorer ever in men's international football with 130 goals, rarely passes up opportunities to add to his remarkable tally.
But on this sunny afternoon in Dortmund, perhaps he was feeling a little generous — or maybe he just wanted another record to his name.
When he laid a square ball across for Bruno Fernandes to score Portugal's third, it was his eighth assist at a European Championship, more than anyone else.
"It was a pure moment of Portuguese football," Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said in praise of Ronaldo, his captain.
"It should be shown in every academy in Portugal and world football, because it showed that the team is the most important thing."
Pitch invaders provide concerning post-script
The afternoon had an uncomfortable ending for Ronaldo and Portugal, as some snap-happy pitch invaders flocked to the champion player, disrupting the game.
The alarming string of security breaches happened in the second half of Portugal's 3-0 win over Turkey in Dortmund's Westfalenstadion.
Ronaldo was happy to pose for a selfie with a young fan who evaded stewards to get on the field in the 69th minute before whipping out his mobile phone.
However, Ronaldo was clearly unhappy when two more people tried to do the same in the final minutes of the game. Then another person — wearing a red Portugal jersey — got close to the 39-year-old striker for a photograph moments after the final whistle.
Two more people then attempted to confront Ronaldo as he walked off the field with his teammates but were held back by security on those occasions.
"It is a concern," Martinez said, "because today we were lucky that the intentions of the fans were good.
"We all love a fan that recognises the big stars and the big icons in their minds. We all agree with that. But you can understand it was a very, very difficult moment — if those intentions are wrong, the players are exposed and we need to be careful with that.
"I don't think that should happen on a football pitch."
The worst miss of the tournament?
Georgia earned its first ever point at a major tournament after drawing with the Czech Republic 1-1 on Saturday. It was nearly a win.
Midfielder Saba Lobjanidze fired his shot narrowly over the bar with the last kick of the game as Georgia's promising three-on-one counterattack came to nothing.
Lobjanidze — who plays for Atlanta United in the US state of Georgia — seemed to be in tears after the final whistle and was comforted by coach Willy Sagnol.
"As I tried to tell him, the ones who never tried, they will never miss. And the best way to miss is to try," Sagnol said.
"Some mixed feelings after the match in the locker room. For the first minutes I think the players were a bit disappointed because of this massive opportunity but I hope they will quickly get the fact that they got their first ever point in a major tournament."
The worst own goal of the tournament?
It's been a fantastic tournament for own goals. In fact, O Goal is leading the golden boot race at this stage and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Sunday morning's action might have given us the best of the lot though, when a Turkish mix-up between defender and goalkeeper gifted Portugal a second goal.
In the 28th minute, trailing 1-0 to Bernado Silva's strike seven minutes earlier, Turkey centre back Samet Akaydin delivered a back-pass that rolled to the side of his goalkeeper and straight into the net.
Remarkably, it was a sixth own-goal already at these Euros — and certainly the most embarrassing, with Akaydin later being taken off injured to complete a miserable evening for the defender.
Lukaku vs VAR
Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku has been in fine form at Euro 2024 so far, proving nearly unstoppable for opposition defenders — but not for the VAR.
This tournament has been using the semi-automated VAR system for calling offsides, which provides a quick graphic to show if any parts of the attacking player have strayed ahead of the last defender.
For the third time in two games, Lukaku had put the ball in the back of the net and wheeled off to celebrate, only for the pesky machines up in the VAR van to cancel out his goal and spoil his moment.
Lukaku somehow failed to score a (legitimate) goal against Romania, but still set up Youri Tielemans for Belgium's opener and remained a threat until Kevin de Bruyne's late finish put the game to bed.
Belgium has been a little slow out of the blocks in Germany, but looked an improved side against Romania. Group E remains tight, but should the Belgians progress nobody will be keen to face them in the knockout rounds — especially if Lukaku's luck turns.
ABC/AP
