The knockout rounds of the European Championship continue with Portugal taking on Slovenia. Whether it is strength or record, almost everyone unanimously saw before the game that Portugal led by Ronaldo would easily advance. But unexpectedly, the two teams were inseparable from each other, and all kinds of accidents emerged one after another, Ronaldo missed a penalty, Pepe sent a single knife in a row, and Slovenia missed the opportunity to kill the game in a row, and finally the two teams played until the penalty shootout.
In the penalty shootout, Portugal's goalkeeper Costa was a god! Saved three penalties from Slovenia in a row, and finally Portugal won the penalty shootout, eliminating their opponents and advancing to the last 8!
It is worth mentioning that it was Costa who not only saved 3 penalty kicks, but also saved 2 single knives in the game, as well as many opponents' strong shots, which can be called the MVP of the game! It was Costa's wonderful play that saved Portugal's two cores, Ronaldo and Pepe, after all, one lost a penalty and the other sent a single knife, this fatal mistake is really unforgivable!
The powerful Portugal launched a fierce attack on the Slovenian penalty area from the beginning of the game, with corner kicks, set-pieces, on-the-spot counter-robbery after losing the ball, 15-degree diagonal long pass to the penalty area, and various offensive means were shown one by one. In the 12th minute, B crossed and landed very well, but unfortunately Ronaldo and B Fei missed all. Although Slovenia is defense-oriented, as long as there is an opportunity to counterattack, the team dares to invest troops, so that the Portuguese team's defense does not dare to press wantonly. The two sides went back and forth, and engaged in fierce battles in the midfield.
In the 31st minute, Portugal's front field continued to penetrate with short passes on the right, Cancelo crossed, Ronaldo carried the defender's header to the goal, and the strength was not enough to be confiscated by the goalkeeper. Just a minute later, Portugal counter-attacked and was brought down by the opponent, and the referee blew for a foul and gave Portugal a set-piece near the outside of the box. In the 38th minute, Slovenia broke the ball in front, and Ruben Dias struggled to shovel the ball out of the bottom line and defuse the danger. In the final minute of stoppage time, Palhinha fired a powerful shot from outside the box and again grazed the post.
Throughout the first half, both teams were not conservative and the tempo was very fast. The stronger Portugal created a number of chances, but the final shot was always unlucky. The constant crosses from the two wings created more good opportunities for Ronaldo and several other attacking players.
On the other hand, Slovenia, based on defense is the team's first task, and the subsequent counterattack is also played in a more orderly manner, both in terms of the number of personnel and the quality of passing, which has caused a substantial threat to the Portuguese defense. During the break, Portugal will definitely have to think of more ways to end the fight in regulation time.
Less than two minutes into the second half, Cancelo flickered in the box, passed many people in a row, and crossed the heel of the B seat and shot high. Portugal then continued to attack the opponent's hinterland, and Ronaldo's set-piece was directly blocked by Oblak. In the 57th minute, Cancelo continued to attack on the wing, and continued inverted triangle passes, causing a lot of trouble for the Slovenian penalty area, and came close to scoring several times. In the 61st minute, Sheshko used his personal ability to force Pepe to succeed and form a single knife, but unfortunately the final shot was missed!
In a short period of time, Portugal surrounded the Slovenian penalty area and launched wave after wave of powerful onslaughts, with both full-backs pressing near the penalty area. In order to maintain the defensive intensity, Slovenia kept changing players, and as time went on, the fitness of both teams reached a bottleneck. Although Portugal's attack was strong, the crosses were almost always defused by Slovenia, after all, the height of several defenders did have a great advantage. At the last moment, Ronaldo burst into the penalty area and shot from close range was saved by the goalkeeper! Neither team found the back of the net in regulation time and the game went into extra time.
After the start of extra time, the two teams slowed down the tempo significantly, one was the physical decline, and the other was that no one wanted to concede a goal at this time. Therefore, although Portugal has the advantage of possession, they do not have such sharp passes. On the other hand, Slovenia has more opportunities to counter-attack, but the overall efficiency is more average. In the 104th minute, Jota took the ball alone, was put down by the opponent in the penalty area by riding alone, and the referee directly blew a penalty, and Ronaldo unexpectedly missed it! So much so that I collapsed and shed tears.
Pepe made a key mistake in the final moments, and Sheshko easily got a single shot, but the shot was off target again! Slovenia missed a great chance to kill the game.
The two sides go to penalties! Portuguese goalkeeper Costa made three saves in a row! Slovenia's Ilicic, Barkovic, and Welbic missed, and Portugal's three penalty players all scored! In the end, Portugal won on penalties.