The team around superstar Cristiano Ronaldo had a hard time with the uncomfortable Slovenians. In the end, however, the penalty shootout made the difference for the 2016 European champions.
They had to tremble for a long time, Cristiano Ronaldo shed bitter tears during the game – and in the end there was great salvation: Portugal is in the quarter-finals of the European Championship after a dramatic 3-0 (0-0, 0-0) penalty shootout against Slovenia.
The 39-year-old Portuguese captain, who failed to save a penalty in the 105th minute from Slovenia’s goalkeeper Jan Oblak and then cried on the field, will now challenge France with Kylian Mbappé in the quarter-finals on Friday (from 9 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online) in Hamburg with his team.
Ronaldo is still waiting for his first goal of the tournament – but he showed the necessary nerves of steel in the penalty shootout on Monday evening in front of 46,576 spectators in the Arena Frankfurt. After he scored, he apologized to the fans with a gesture. Goalkeeper Diogo Costa became the match winner, saving three shots from the Slovenians. It was a relief – especially for Ronaldo, who had to be consoled by his teammates after his missed attempt from eleven meters at half-time in extra time (read more about that here).
His record at his sixth European Championship remains at 14 goals. Ronaldo could have won the match single-handedly. Shortly before the end of regular time, his shot from a free position was blocked by Oblak (89′). Nevertheless, coach Roberto Martinez’s team was spared an exit in the first knockout round like Italy and Belgium experienced.
All eyes on Ronaldo: Every time the former world footballer touched the ball, the noise level in the stands rose. This was also the case when the centre-forward jumped just under a cross in the 13th minute. Is this the last major tournament appearance of the Saudi professional from Al-Nassr FC? While his colleagues swirled around him and looked for gaps, Ronaldo mostly held his position as a fixed point.
Meanwhile, European Championship veteran Pepe (41) held things together at the back, repeatedly intervened energetically and dared to venture as far as the opponent’s goal. The Slovenians initially found it difficult to get close to the penalty area. This also applied to Benjamin Šeško from RB Leipzig, the youngest in the underdog’s squad at 21. The Portuguese allowed their opponents to run a lot with their clever distribution of space.
The favorites repeatedly tried to cross Ronaldo, who finally got his head on the ball after half an hour. Oblak had no trouble, however. But then the world star celebrated his first free kick in a wide-legged pose – and fired a powerful shot just centimeters over the bar.
On the other side, Sesko made his first real appearance just before half-time, but his shot from 20 metres landed right in the arms of goalkeeper Diogo Costa. Both teams went into half-time with Portugal’s João Palhinha hitting the outside of the post.
Five days after the 2-0 defeat to Georgia in the last group match, Ronaldo’s team continued to be dominant and wide awake, but simply couldn’t find a gap. When the record European Championship goalscorer took another free kick, Oblak blocked the ball with both fists. The Atlético Madrid keeper and his teammates defended their penalty area with many legs.
After an hour, Sesko escaped the experienced Pepe on a counterattack, but missed the goal. So it went to penalties, where there was a late happy ending for the Portuguese despite the Ronaldo drama. The brilliant player showed the necessary nerves of steel and converted his penalty. After he had converted, he apologized to the fans with a gesture. Goalkeeper Diogo Costa became the match winner, saving all three shots from the Slovenians.
2024-07-01 21:43:18
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