Portugal cruised into the quarter-finals of the European Football Championship despite missing superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty in extra time. In the round of 16 against Slovenia, the joint-favourites secured promotion after 120 minutes in a convincing 3-0 penalty shootout. Goalkeeper Diogo Costa became the most celebrated hero for captain Roberto Martinez’s Portuguese side with three saves in Monday’s battle in Frankfurt.
Ronaldo lost a defensive battle against Slovenia goalkeeper Jan Oblak in the 105th minute; During the half-time meeting that followed, the Al-Nasr striker broke down in tears and had to be consoled by his teammates. In the penalty shootout, Ronaldo was the first Portugal shooter to cool down and apologize to the fans.
Cristiano Ronaldo burst into tears
© AFP / Patricia De Melo Moreira
This means Saturday’s quarter-final against France in Hamburg will be a repeat of the 2016 European Championship final won by Portugal. A few hours earlier, the Équipe Tricolore won 1-0 against Belgium. Promoted to the knockout stage after three draws in the group stage, team boss Madjas Keg’s Slovenians defended bravely and managed to bid farewell with their heads held high.
Portugal faced many problems
Martínez had a retired team against “B Team” Slovenia, who played in the final group game against Georgia (0-2). As expected, the Group F winner had 75 percent of the ball in the first quarter of an hour. However, there were no big chances early on against the Slovenians’ two defensive back fours. The biggest highlight of the opening phase was provided by “Juggler” Ronaldo, who lifted the ball several times to the delight of his home fans.
After half an hour, the Portuguese got a little more dangerously close after a few crosses failed to find the target. Oblak (31′) had no problem with Ronaldo’s header, and the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper would have been there even if Ronaldo had fired a powerful free kick from 20 meters out onto the crossbar (34′). The Slovenians tried their luck with occasional counterattacks.
Just before the half-time whistle, Joao Palhinha hit the outside bar from the edge of the penalty area (45th + 3). After the break, the Portuguese continued to try to take the lead. A shot from Bernardo Silva goes wide (47′), another Ronaldo free kick from a good position (55′) is very central. For the Slovenians, it was Cesko who posed the danger again: the 21-year-old Leipzig striker ran away from the 41-year-old Pep, but the shot was a complete failure (61′).
Ronaldo scored another free kick on top of that in the 72nd minute, and in the 89th minute the 39-year-old Oblak was denied from a great position to miss the result in regular time. In extra time, the Slovenians had their first chances with shots from Benjamin Verbig (95th) and striker Jan Gorenc Stankovic (96th). Then “Joker” Diogo Jota fell in the penalty area after a collision with Vanja Trukusic (103′), referee Daniel Orsado pointed to the penalty spot. But Ronaldo’s nerves gave way and Slovenia had hope.
Shortly after, Oblak Balhinha took the lead again with a header (108′). In the 115th minute, Cescó appeared alone in front of Costa after a mistake by Pepe, but fell at the goalkeeper’s feet. The Porto goalie could not win the penalty shootout either.
