Portugal defeated Slovenia after extra-time blood and penalty shootout to reach the quarterfinals of Euro 2024.
Portugal scored a 0-0 draw against Slovenia in the Euro 2024 round of 16 at Frankfurt Arena in Germany on the 2nd (Korea time) due to Cristiano Ronaldo's missed penalty in the first half of extra time, and then won 3-0 in the penalty shootout thanks to goalkeeper Diogo Costa's storm defense.
Ronaldo's Portugal will compete with Mbappe's France at 4 a.m. on the 6th for the semifinals of their dreams.
Portugal, which struggled with the persistent resistance of ambush Slovenia, took a decisive opportunity in the 14th minute of extra time. A penalty was declared as the Slovenian defense forced him to block Diogo Jota as he dribbled into the box. Ronaldo stepped up as a kicker and Slovenia goalkeeper Jan Oblak flew up and blocked a kick that shot sharply to the right of the goal. It was a super save. It was a painful moment for Ronaldo to shed tears after the first half of extra time. In the end, Ronaldo was the first kicker of the penalty shootout, which came after the extra time without scoring. There were no two mistakes. This time, he aimed to the left of the goal and shook the net. Since then, Portugal's Bruno Fernandes and Bernardu Silva have succeeded in penalty shootouts, while Slovenia's Ilich, Balkovec and Verbic all failed, recording its first 0-3 score in Euro 2024.
The hero of the day was goalkeeper Diogo Costa (Porto), who was born in 1999, who saved Portugal from crisis with three consecutive super saves. Former veteran Ronaldo, who moved from hell to heaven and turned his tears into a big smile, also hugged Costa and thanked him. The BBC says, `I think someone needs to put up a statue of him' praised Costa's performance in words 'Man of the Match (MOM)'.
Costa said in a post-match interview that `This is probably the best game of my life.' "It's a great emotion. It was a tough game. We knew what the opponent was going to do and the opponent did his job perfectly. I had to concentrate very much throughout the game. I waited for the best chance to help the team and only focused on that part. It was a really tough game. The goalkeeper is in a position where he can barely touch the ball at times, but today's shootout was really worth it"I was thrilled.
"I get strength from my family. Family is my support. My family, tremendous effort and dedication, we are ready as what comes next." "A team like us is ready to face anything and we're sure to make it."
For the incredible third consecutive crazy save "How did you stop it? Did you guess? Asked if he had studied, Diego Costa "just followed my gut feeling. Of course, there was an analysis of the penalty shootout, but the player changes, the way he shoots and changes. I just thought I should and I'm glad I did. I'm so happy."
