Who is Francisco Conceicao? The striker who rescued Cristiano Ronaldo’s dream against Czechia

It was somewhat of a wild dream for Francisco Conceicao last night as the player helped Portugal grab a last-minute winner against Czechia. With the games heading to the final whistle, it looked like Cristiano Ronaldo and his men might be forced to share points with Czechia. However, Roberto Martinez had one last trick up his sleeve as the Portuguese tactician introduced 21-year-old Francisco Conceicao at the end of regulation time.

The striker made an instant impact for his team as he found the back of the net in the dying minutes of the contest. Pedro Neto, attempting to find someone, put a long ball into the six-yard box. While Czechia defenders were busy marking Cristiano Ronaldo, it was Francisco Conceicao who pounced on to the ball and slotted it past the goalkeeper into the right bottom corner to send the fans into a frenzy.

Unknown to many, it was a dream come true for his father, Sergio Conceicao, to watch his son make his debut for the national team. The name sounds familiar, right? Well, Portugal’s hero is the son of one of the best Liga Portugal managers, Sergio Conceicao. In fact, when his son was breaking through the ranks at Porto, Sergio was the one who gave him the break into the national team.

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Francisco Conceicao becomes an overnight hero for Portugal

While most fans were left stunned by the debutant’s display last night, former ardent Porto fans, it’s somewhat of a norm these days. Francisco Conceicao aka Chico has been one of the top emerging talents at the Portuguese club with the player making his debut under his father Sergio Conceicao last summer. While many expected the player to get a clean break into the team, his father made him wait almost half the season before giving him his debut cap.

Well, Chico did not let his father down as the player rescued his team from a 2-1 defeat on his debut by winning a penalty just 10 minutes after his introduction. Since then, the player hasn’t looked back as he continues to make a name for himself in Porto’s colors. The player’s performance this season grabbed Roberto Martinez’s attention, who awarded Conceicao with his maiden national call-up. From there, oh well, all know how things went on from there!

It will be interesting to see what’s next for the player as Portugal looks to lift the Euros in what could be Cristiano Ronaldo’s last run with the national team.

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