Le match : 0-0 (3-0 t.a.b.)
Les Bleus will face Portugal in the quarter-finals this Friday, July 5 in Hamburg. The Portuguese and Slovenians battled through the night in Frankfurt to reach the next round at the end of a thrilling match until the end (0-0, 3-0 on penalties).
Tears of sadness have given way to tears of joy. Extremely affected by his missed penalty during extra time, Cristiano Ronaldo found his smile again half an hour later, after the Portuguese qualified, who are offering themselves a remake of the Euro 2016 final.
As expected, Slovenia hampered Portugal with their low block, their constant solidarity, their impenetrable defensive axis. And their top-level goalkeeper: Jan Oblak notably won a duel in the 89th minute against Cristiano Ronaldo before deflecting his penalty onto his post (103rd minute). The Portuguese wings were nevertheless efficient, with Mendes-Leao on one side and especially Cancelo-Silva on the other. But the Portuguese lacked precision, connections. The poisonous crosses from Fernandes (4th minute) or Silva (13th minute) did not find a taker. Palhinha’s shot found… the post (45th minute) then his header in the 108th minute was slammed into a corner by Oblak. The Atlético goalkeeper was one of the great men of the match. But he was a little less strong than his Portuguese counterpart…
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Portugal have qualified for their record-breaking seventh Euro quarter-final. But the Portuguese have not reached the last four since their continental triumph in 2016.
The Man: Diogo Costa as a Hero
He had nothing to do during regulation time but Diogo Costa was very hot at the end of the match. The FC Porto goalkeeper first won his duel in the 115th minute against Benjamin Sesko, who had gone on the counter-attack following a mistake by veteran Pepe (41 years and 126 days, a record in a knockout match in a major tournament). But he was especially imperial during the penalty shootout. He stopped all of the Slovenian shots (Ilicic, Balkovec, Verbic). This had never happened before at the Euro. Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored his team’s first attempt, then turned to the camera, impressed.
