At 3 a.m. on July 2, Beijing time, in the 1/8 finals of the European Cup, Portugal played Slovenia. Although Cristiano Ronaldo missed a crucial penalty in extra time, he was still the first to stand up in the penalty shoot-out and scored the ball to complete the redemption. However, the biggest contributor to Portugal's promotion is certainly not Cristiano Ronaldo, but goalkeeper Diogo Costa.
Tonight's Diogo Costa can be called the man who saved Cristiano Ronaldo and the savior of the Portuguese team. In the regular 90 minutes, Diogo Costa wasn't tested too much. In the final stage of extra time, in the 115th minute, the 41-year-old veteran Pepe made a mistake and the ball was cut off by Slovenian striker Sesko.
Sesco went solo and Diogo Costa saved his one-on-one effortlessly. It also reminded fans of the scene when Argentine goalkeeper Martin saved Muani's shot in the final moments of the World Cup final. For Portugal, Diogo Costa's save saved their hopes of qualifying.
Slovenia's first penalty shoot-out was Ilicic when he fired a volley into the bottom right corner of the net, which Diogo Costa leapt to save. Slovenia's first penalty was saved, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored the first goal for Portugal, was much less pressed. This time, Cristiano Ronaldo scored comfortably in the face of Oblak.
In the second round of penalties, Slovenia's Barkovic took a half-high kick that was saved by Diogo Costa. Fernandes Fernandes was Portugal's second penalty and the Manchester United star hit the left side of the net.
In the third round of penalties, Slovenia's Welbic chose to take a penalty into the top left corner, only to be saved by Diogo Costa again. Seat B came out with an easy penalty and Portugal eliminated Slovenia 3-0 in extra time to advance to the last eight. It is worth mentioning that Diogo Costa is the first goalkeeper in the history of the European Championship to play 120 minutes and not concede a goal in a penalty shoot-out.
There is no doubt that Diogo Costa was the biggest contributor to Portugal's progress. He not only saved Cristiano Ronaldo, but also proved to the outside world: why don't I play in the big five leagues, but still the most expensive goalkeeper in this European Cup? Diogo Costa's current German transfer price is 40 million euros, tied with Italian goalkeeper Donnarumma and Swiss goalkeeper Kerber for the first place in football!
Diogo Costa's growth is inseparable from the care of veterans such as Ronaldo and Pepe. At the World Cup in Qatar two years ago, the 22-year-old Diogo Costa made a low-level mistake against Ghana that nearly caused his team to concede a goal. Ronaldo comforted him at the time: "Smile, we won, didn't we?" Did you concede any goal? Isn't there any. Not only that, Ronaldo also specifically asked Pepe to comfort Diogo Costa.
Two years later, Diogo Costa has grown up and matured, and he is starting to be able to shelter veterans like Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe. When Pepe made a mistake and sent a one-on-one ball, Diogo Costa saved to keep the ball in the back of the net. When the pressure on Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty surged, Diogo Costa made a save to help the team calm down. Tonight's Diogo Costa deserves to be called "Santa Costa" by the fans!