Sometimes, aging is just a matter of moments, and this sentence is perfect for the match between Ronaldo and Pepe.
On July 2, Beijing time, in the 1/8 finals of the European Cup, Ronaldo missed a penalty and shed tears on the field, and Portugal did not defeat Slovenia 3-0 until the penalty shootout and advanced to the next round.
In another matchup, the French team narrowly defeated Belgium 1-0 with Vertonghen's own goal. The two teams will meet in the quarterfinals, and Mbappe will also usher in a direct confrontation with his idol Cristiano Ronaldo.
Aging is only a moment
"The first sadness and the last joy, that's football. I could have given the team an advantage, but Oblak saved. Even the strongest people have moments like this, and I'm disappointed and sad because the team needs that goal......" After the game, Ronaldo was still able to give an interview in a calm mood, but the moment he lost the penalty, Ronaldo burst into tears.
Before this European Championship, Portugal and Slovenia only had one friendly in March this year, and although Slovenia won 2-0, no one is optimistic about Slovenia appearing in the knockout stage of a major tournament for the first time in their history.
It was this team that made Ronaldo cry on the field.
In the whole game, Portugal had 14 shots on goal and 6 shots on target, much higher than Slovenia's 8 shots and 2 shots on target, and 72% possession was enough to show the strength of the Portuguese team, but Portugal, who dominated the field, never scored a goal.
In the first half of the game, B Fei outflanked the tackle at the back point, and Ronaldo's free kick in front of the goal went straight over the crossbar. In the second half, Ronaldo's one-handed volley from a small angle was saved by Oblak. Oblak, who made six successful saves in the game, was firmly in keeping the door against Slovenia.
In extra-time, Jota burst into the box and was brought down, Portugal won a penalty, but Ronaldo's powerful penalty was saved by Oblak.
Prior to missing this penalty, Ronaldo had already hit 13 penalties in a row. But at the crucial stage of the knockout round, Ronaldo failed to score.
Ronaldo, who lost the penalty, was very annoyed, and his emotions collapsed to tears directly, and his teammates had to step forward to comfort Ronaldo one by one. The traces of time are becoming more and more obvious on Ronaldo at this moment.
According to statistics, Ronaldo has failed to score in 8 consecutive games in the national team competition (World Cup + European Cup), and failed to score in 11 consecutive games, the last time Ronaldo scored in the tournament was in the 2022 World Cup group stage against Ghana, he scored 1 penalty, and the last time he scored in a major tournament was back in the group stage of the European Championship against Germany in 2021.
Similar to the 39-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo's inability to score a penalty, the 41-year-old Pepe also failed to make Portugal's defence impregnable. In extra-time, Pepe slipped to give Sesko a solo shot, only for the final shot to be saved by Ogo Costa. As early as the 61st minute of the game, Sesko also ate Pepe raw with a single shot, but the final shot was missed. After a huge mistake in extra time, Martinez quickly replaced Pepe.
At this moment, the word aging is especially obvious in Ronaldo and Pepe.
Three consecutive saves from the penalty spot, achieving the "secret weapon" Costa
Fortunately, Portugal still have 24-year-old Diogo Costa in the last line of defence.
Sesko's one-handed save in the final period of extra time and three consecutive Slovenian penalties in the penalty shootout became the highlight of Diogo Costa's game.
The first goalkeeper in the history of the European Championship to make three saves in a single penalty shootout, the first goalkeeper to not concede a goal in a penalty shootout, and the first goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in 120 minutes and a penalty shootout...... In one game, Diogo Costa made a series of history.
So much so that the UEFA technical observer commented after the game: "In addition to saving an unprecedented three penalties in the penalty shootout, he also saved Sesko's one-handed shot in extra time, which was wonderful." He showed a high level of focus throughout the game, which is the hallmark of a top goalkeeper in the tournament. ”
After the game, Ronaldo hugged Diogo Costa tightly and lamented this dangerous game.
Diogo Costa said in an interview: "When I saved Sesko's one-on-one shot, I read his body language and it was probably the best game of my life. I'm happy and excited to help the team. ”
Portugal coach Martinez said: "Portugal's secret weapon is Diogo Costa, he is the most secret weapon in European football, today he showed a different level, his performance in one-on-one situations was incredible. ”
Own goal, the best striker in France
Since 1998, when France have been able to qualify for the quarter-finals of a major tournament, they have either won or lost to the eventual champions. But the French team in this European Championship seems to lack some convincingness.
In the 1/8 finals of the European Cup, the world's second-ranked French team and the world's third-ranked Belgium team met in a narrow way, and finally with an own goal from Verhengtong in the 85th minute, the French team defeated Belgium 1-0 to advance to the next round.
So far, the French team has scored only 3 goals, 2 of which are own goals, so much so that Chiellini joked on FOX Sports after the game: "Own goals are the best strikers in France." ”
In fact, the French team's attacking wave in this game was not small, with 19 shots on goal, far more than Belgium's five shots, but only two shots on target in the whole game after an average of one shot on goal in five minutes.
Compared with the previous 4231 formation, the Belgian team chose the 442 formation in this game, and De Bruyne was placed in the back position, focusing on defensive counterattacks.
Belgium had just one shot on goal in the entire first half, the second time they had in the first half of the Euros, since 1980, and the fewest first-half shots on goal for France at an international level since 2006. The five shots on goal were also Belgium's lowest stats in an international tournament since the 1990 World Cup.
De Bruyne stressed this line of thinking after the game: "Today I played in a more defensive position and I did everything I could to help the team. We worked out the tactics and executed the plan well. We know that with the quality of the opponent, they will have more possession. Before the opponent scored, our plan was good until the opponent scored. After that, we only had a short time left to equalise. ”
For a long time, the Belgians were able to "stand and play" at the back very easily, and the French team could only vent their frustration by kicking and shooting until luck sided with France.
In the 85th minute, Kolo Muani turned and shot in the box, the ball hit Vertonghen's knee and reflected into the net to break the deadlock, and the UEFA official recorded the goal as Vertonghen's own goal after the game.
England legend Neville was blunt about how lucky the goal was: "Muani didn't make any impressive moves, he even stumbled a little when he turned. But Vertonghen should have been on his toes, and once you were a yard or two away from a striker, you couldn't blame bad luck, but rather a poor defence. Vertonghen himself knows this. ”
Vertonghen (37 years and 68 days) is the oldest player to score an own goal at the European Championships and the first Belgian ever to score an own goal at the Euros, according to OptaJohan.
Only five games in the history of the European Championship have ended 1-0 with the only goal coming from an own goal, and France have been the beneficiaries of three.
Although the process was a bit bumpy, the result was satisfactory to the French - on the World Championship stage, France won all five times against Belgium, which is the joint-highest number of wins among European national teams in a 100% win rate on the tournament stage (Italy also won five out of five matches against Austria in the tournament).
Speaking after the game, Didier Deschamps said: "We've made a lot of progress. While our opponents are an attacking team on paper, they are clearly cautious. We did everything we could to create chances and we did create more than our opponents, but we stayed patient, waited for the opportunity and didn't fall into the trap of the opposition. I'm happy with that. But you can't win just on possession and I hope we create more chances. ”
However, since the start of the game, the French team has only scored 3 goals in 4 games, and it is a bit regrettable that it is 2 own goals and 1 penalty kick, but Deschamps gave a different understanding, "Even if people take it for granted that we are in the quarter-finals, we still have to enjoy this moment." Things don't just snap your fingers. ”