In the early morning of July 2, Beijing time, in the first round of the knockout stage of the European Cup, in the 1/8 finals, Ronaldo missed a penalty kick and cried bitterly to complete his redemption in the penalty shootout. Ver Hengtong sent an own goal, the world's second-ranked France narrowly defeated the world's third-ranked Belgium, Portugal and France both passed, and Mbappe will challenge the all-time top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo in the quarterfinals. It can be called a rehearsal for the finals.
Portugal - Slovenia
Portugal is the main attack on Ronaldo, Bernardo frequently crosses on the right, Leao and Vitinha are also constantly feeding the ball to the middle, Ronaldo is also trying his best to outflank and respond, but it is basically a fraction of a second, many overhead kicks are still difficult to hit the target, but it is Ronaldo's direct free kick that creates the biggest threat. Portugal dominated possession by 65 per cent, but showed a lack of accuracy in their shots, with none of their five shots on target in the half. The Portuguese attack group does not seem to have many methods, and the too monotonous offensive routine has been controlled by the opponent, and the Slovenian defense is solid and fearless, not only continuing to defuse the opponent's fierce attack, but also freeing up his hands to play a fast counterattack, so that goalkeeper Koster does not dare to slack off.
In the second half, Portugal adjusted their lineup, Cancelo was in front of the position and made a series of crosses to create danger, Bernardo closed in the middle and shot without quality. Cristiano Ronaldo's two free-kicks were either blocked by Oblak or deflected wide. Slovenia took their efficient defence to the extreme, limiting the Portuguese flank's connection to Cristiano Ronaldo, weakening the opponent's attacking threat, and at the same time seizing the opponent's mistake to almost form a fatal blow. In the closing stages, Jota went straight into the penalty area, and Ronaldo inserted a low shot that was saved, missing a good chance to kill. Slovenia's excellent defense made Portugal unable to change the score and dragged the game into extra time. Portugal has played extra time in the last 7 knockout games in the last 7 knockout games.
Vibic steals Cancelo's long-range shot and is blocked, and in the 103rd minute, Jota breaks through the penalty area in succession and is brought down to create a penalty, but Ronaldo's penalty is saved by Oblak, and the balance of victory seems to be tilting in favor of Slovenia. Ronaldo cried in annoyance, and his teammates came to comfort him. Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the pitch and was still brave and was judged to have been fouled for a header. Pepe's mistake was tackled, Sesco's single chance was blocked by Costa, the goalkeepers of the two teams were too powerful, and the two sides still did not score to enter the penalty shootout, Costa saved the opponent's penalty kicks in the first three rounds, Ronaldo and B Fei and Bernardo scored points respectively. Portugal defeated Slovenia 3-0 to advance to the quarterfinals of the European Championship for the eighth time in their history. Costa became the first goalkeeper in the 64-year history of the European Championship to keep a clean sheet in 120 minutes + penalty shootouts.
France-Belgium
France quickly controlled the midfield in the opening stages, with the midfield combination of N'Golo Kante, Rabiot and Tchouameni continuing to possess the ball, and the forward trident led by Mbappe frequently cruising high and wasting many opportunities. Belgium looked a little passive in the first half, De Bruyne was unable to play attacking and organizational efficiency from the back, and the connection with Lukaku and Doku was repeatedly cut off, resulting in the front three falling into a one-man dilemma, under the French multi-player defensive encirclement, it was difficult to play a threatening attack, so that there was only one shot on goal at half-time.
Heading into the second half, Kevin De Bruyne moved forward to threaten attack, but his and Lukaku's high-quality shots were brilliantly defensed by Maignan. The French team continued to perform abstractly in the frontcourt, Tchouameni, Thuram, and Mbappe continued to shoot wildly from a distance, but they couldn't hit the goal target, and they didn't even have a chance to hit the goal frame, and the quality of 20 shots was far inferior to the opponent's 2 high-quality shots. In the final stages, the French team's long-lasting attacking pressure was a windfall, and substitute Muani volleyed into the opponent's central defender to score an own goal, and the Belgian team also had a little back, but fell short in the last minute. France relied on good luck and solid defense to win 1-0 and become the fifth team to advance to the last eight.
Six places will be awarded in the quarterfinals of the European Championship: Portugal vs France, Switzerland vs England, Germany vs Spain.