In the early morning of July 2, Beijing time, in the 6th matchup of the 2024 Euro 2024 1/8 finals, Portugal led by Ronaldo was still 0-0 with Slovenia after 120 minutes of regular and extra time. Later, in the brutal penalty shootout, Slovenia missed 3 penalties in a row and could only watch Portugal advance. In the quarter-finals, Portugal will face the Gallic Roosters France.
During the 90 minutes of the regular season, the two teams attacked and defended each other, but neither team could score. Among them, Cristiano Ronaldo's four free kicks were quite threatening, but they only blossomed and did not bear fruit. In the final moments, he had another shot from a tight angle, but it was caught by Slovenian goalkeeper Oblak directly with his leg.
Slovenia's tenacious defense has impressed. During the counter-attack, Sheshko had a one-on-one chance, but he also failed to take it. Slovenia also launched several attacks in the final stages of regular time, but Portugal's 41-year-old defender Pepe played steadily and defused the danger one by one.
In the 13th minute of extra time, Portugal's Diogo Jota broke through to the Slovenian penalty area and was brought down by a defender, and the referee awarded a penalty. But then, Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty was saved by goalkeeper Oblak. Cristiano Ronaldo missed a golden chance to open the scoring and has failed to score in eight consecutive international tournaments.
In the 15th minute of the second half of extra time, the 41-year-old and 126-day-old Portuguese veteran Pepe made a low-level mistake, and after the Slovenian steal, striker Sheshko got an absolute one-on-one chance, but it may have been affected by excessive physical consumption, his shot was weak and had no angle, and was miraculously saved by Portuguese goalkeeper Diogo Costa.
In the end, the game could only go to a brutal penalty shootout. In the penalty shootout, Slovenia's first Iličić's penalty was saved by Portuguese goalkeeper Diogo Costa. Subsequently, Ronaldo withstood the pressure and came on the court and scored a penalty steadily. The scales of victory began to tip in Portugal's.
Sure enough, the penalties taken by Slovenian players Barkovic and Welbic on the second and third appearances were also saved by Diogo Costa in a row. The game was out of suspense. In the end, Portugal eliminated Slovenia 3-0 on penalties and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Previously, the French team relied on an own gift from their opponent to eliminate the European Red Devils Belgium 1-0. In the quarter-finals, Portugal will face France.