Diogo Costa, a god in the first fight!
In a contest in the 1/8 finals of the European Championship that ended in the early hours of this morning, Portugal finally beat Slovenia in a penalty shootout and successfully advanced to the quarterfinals of this European Cup. Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa managed to keep the back of the net for 120 minutes in regulation and injury time, and after going into the penalty shoot-out, he saved all three of Slovenia's penalties. Diogo Costa also achieved a feat as he became the first goalkeeper in European Championship history to keep a clean sheet in 120 minutes and a penalty shoot-out. At the same time, Diogo Costa has also become another goalkeeper to save three penalties in the European Championship after Casillas, Gianluigi Buffon, Unai Simon and Donnarumma.
Due to Diogo Costa's divine help, the penalty shootout between Portugal and Slovenia ended after only six rounds of penalties. According to statistics, this is the first time in the history of the European Championship and the World Cup that only six penalties have been taken in penalty shootouts.
In addition to being a one-man in the penalty shootout, Diogo Costa also turned the tide many times in the regular season. Especially in the final stages of stoppage time, watching Big Brother Pepe play with fire and send low-level mistakes to make Slovenia's Sheshko form a one-on-one knife, it was the Portuguese goalkeeper's leg extension at the critical moment to deny the opponent's goal to ensure that the team could enter the final penalty shootout.
Showing great concentration throughout the game, contributing 5 wonderful saves, and a pass completion rate of nearly 90%, as the biggest contributor to Portugal's promotion to the last 8, Diogo Costa was also elected as the best player of the match after the game.
In addition to becoming the first goalkeeper in European history to save three penalties in a single game, Diogo Costa is also the first goalkeeper to save three penalties in a single season in the Champions League group stage. In the 2022/23 Champions League, Diogo Costa made three consecutive saves in the third, fourth and fifth rounds of the Champions League group stage, setting a new record in the Champions League.
As the most expensive goalkeeper in world football today, Diogo Costa was worth 45 million euros before the start of this European Cup, which is more than the last European Cup MVP Donnarumma, French goalkeeper Maignan, and today's Slovenian goalkeeper Oblak and other goalkeepers.
Diogo Costa can be arguably the quintessential modern goalkeeper. He is very good on the ball and often helps the team to attack. Against those high-pressure teams, he has the ability to play the ball forward and take the pressure off his teammates at the back. In addition to his elite-level ability to hit the ball, he is also relatively good at attacking and clearing, which is crucial for the modern goalkeeper. Similarly, Diogo Costa is also relatively solid in directing defense, intercepting crosses, saving and other basic skills.
After being crowned a god in a match with Slovenia, the young Portuguese goalkeeper has taken another big step towards the position of the number one goalkeeper in world football today. As the most expensive goalkeeper in world football today, it is not surprising that Diogo Costa has a brilliant performance today!!