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Euro 2016 winners Portugal survived by the skin of their teeth to reach the Euro 2024 quarterfinals, beating Slovenia in a shootout after Cristiano Ronaldo had squandered an extra time penalty in Frankfurt on Monday (July 1).
In a tense Round of 16 clash, Roberto Martinez's side dominated proceedings without scoring, with Ronaldo missing a couple of gilt-edged chances and going narrowly over with a well-hit free-kick.
With both teams failing to break the deadlock, extra time ensued, where Ronaldo had the chance to break his duck at the tournament and potentially send his team through to the next round. The 39-year-old timed his spot-kick well, hitting powerfully to his right, but Jan Oblak made a stunning save.
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Ronaldo broke into tears and had to be consoled by his teammates, but there was still 15 minutes of extra time to be played. Slovenia had their chance to add insult to injury when Benjamin Sesko broke through on goal in the 115th minute, but Diogo Costa saved the day for his team.
Penalties ensued, where, surprisingly, Ronaldo took Portugal's first kick and scored low to Oblak's right, despite the goalkeeper diving the right away. With Slovenia missing all three of their efforts, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva scored to take Roberto Martinez's side through to the quarterfinals, where France await on Friday (July 5) in Hamburg, having beat Belgium 1-0 earlier in the day.
It marked the first time a Euros shootout ended 3-0 as Slovenia exited the tournament after going undefeated in four games from open play. In the process, Diogo Costa also became the first goalkeeper to save three penalties in a shootout as Portugal lived to fight another day.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo remains scoreless in Euro 2024 but creates more records
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo came close to scoring on multiple occasions, none more so than the penalty on the cusp of half-time in extra time. Nevertheless, he beat Oblak from the spot in the shootout to carve out a few more records.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is now the first player to score in a shootout in three different editions of the Euros and also the oldest player to score in a penalty shootout at the European Championship.
Can Cristiano Ronaldo go on to become the first player to score in six editions of the Euros and the oldest scorer in competition history when A Selecao take on France in the Euro 2024 quarterfinals? We will find out in just four days.
