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Tavares' U21 Euros campaign starts with defeat

Nuno Tavares playing for Portugal under-21s against Georgia

Nuno Tavares kicked off his U21s European Championship campaign on Wednesday but couldn't prevent Portugal from falling to a shock 2-0 defeat to co-hosts Georgia.

On the opening night of the tournament, first-half goals from Giorgi Gagua and Saba Sazonov gave Georgia the victory in their first-ever game at the U21 finals, despite Portugal dominating proceedings throughout but being unable to get on the scoresheet.

Their task was made even harder when Tomas Araujo was dismissed in the second half to cap a frustrating start to the competition for the young Selecao.

Nuno played all 90 minutes at left-back, and will hope to help his team stay in contention for a spot in the knockout stages when they take on the Netherlands on Saturday, ahead of their final group game against Belgium on Tuesday, June 27.

The defender is our sole representative in the Portugal squad after Fabio Vieira was forced to withdraw from the tournament through illness, while Emile Smith Rowe gets his competition underway on Thursday evening when England face the Czech Republic.