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| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A | |||||||||
|
1
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 7 | |
|
2
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
|
3
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 3 | |
|
4
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 1 | |
| Group B | |||||||||
|
1
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 9 | |
|
2
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
|
3
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 2 | |
|
4
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 1 | |
| Group C | |||||||||
|
1
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
|
2
|
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
|
2
|
|
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
|
4
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 2 | |
| Group D | |||||||||
|
1
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | |
|
2
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
|
3
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
|
4
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 1 | |
| Group E | |||||||||
|
1
|
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
|
2
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
|
3
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
|
4
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 4 | |
| Group F | |||||||||
|
1
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 6 | |
|
2
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | |
|
3
|
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
|
4
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 1 | |
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Do tune in tomorrow, for the next batch of encounters.
And then entered the lottery of shootout. But it wasn't much of a lottery. It was a parade for Costa, as he humbled the Slovenian attackers in quick succession and Portugal's shooters eyed down Oblak and left him floored. Not quite sure what Roberto Martinez can take away from what, in all honesty, was a sluggish display. But Matjaž Kek's side will have plenty to. Their well-drilled display strangulated those elite opposition attackers. They belonged here. They belonged at the big stages.
But ultimately, it's Portugal who goes through. In front of them a staggering challenge. France, smacking their lips, hoping to avenge the defeat in the EURO 2016 final. What a treat we have in our hands. But that's for another day. For now, spare a thought for Slovenia and their fight.
Makes Oblak go the other way and comfortably tugs it into the right corner. But it's all been Diogo Costa. All him. What a performance between the sticks.
Verbic's penalty is timid and Costa punches it away with ease. Slovenia weren't expecting to come this far, and it shows! Their penalties have been poor.
As composed as you can imagine.
Costa makes it two saves from two, diving to his right this time and denying Balkovec.
Steps up, looks through Oblak, buries the penalty to the left bottom corner, apologizes to the fans for his earlier miss, and walks away. Stuff of champions!
First up, Josep Ilicic steps up. His penalty is at the perfect height and Diogo Costa keeps it out.
Pepe and Joao Cancelo are brought off for Ruben Neves and Nelson Semedo. Maybe these are changes made considering the imminent penalty shootout.
Portugal's leaders are rattled. First the squandered spot-kick from Ronaldo, and now, Pepe loses his footing and gives Benjamin Sesko a free run at the Portugal goal. One-on-one with Diogo Costa, Sesko needs a moment of composure, but it eludes him. His strike glazes off the boots of the Portuguese shot-stopper and the rebound is timidly skied by Sporar!
A huge let-off for Portugal. A blunder from Slovenia.
Shooting distance here!
Legs wide, eyes glistening, a million hopes on his shoulder, Ronaldo thrusts his spot-kick towards the right bottom corner, but Oblak judges it with aplomb. The narrative was written. Penned down into the book. But the Slovenian shot-stopper brushes the canvas white.
Fresh legs, fierce heart, and plenty of skill. Diego Jota storms into the opposition area, and a stumbling Drkusic clatters him down. The referee takes a while but points to the spot. We all know what follows. We know who's stepping up.
Portugal get us underway.
Some tenacious play from Diogo Jota to win the ball up the pitch, and then he feeds Ronaldo, who makes a hungry run into the area. But he gets a little too square and then thumps it into the palms of Oblak. A bulldozer of striker like him should've done better.
Petar Stojanovic is replaced by Benjamin Verbic.
It has been all Portugal till now. But there's the threat Slovenia pose. A few link-ups on the break, and Benjamin Sesko runs at and then past Pepe to get through on goal. However, the old, wily defender does enough to unsettle the Slovenian talisman, and the resulting effort is scuffed wide.
Cancelo is enjoying his duty up the pitch and how! He breaks down the right yet again, and drills in a cutback for Bernardo. He aims to flick it for Vitinha, who's disposed before he can get his shot away.
Ronaldo hammers a flat freekick, and Oblak must've seen it late. But the goalkeeper judges it to perfection, stays his ground, and punches it away.
Few might have forgotten what Joao Cancelo in full flow is capable of. But this spell is a good reminder. The full-back gets away from his marker with a delightful touch and then makes Bijol dance to his tunes on the way into the area. His drilled cross is deflected but it falls for an unmarked Bernardo Silva. His volleyed attempt is wild.
Slovenia get the ball rolling and they'll attack from left to right.
But Slovenia found their way. They took their time, ample of it, but grew into the game. Sesko and Sporar have been robust and wily enough to cause trouble up the pitch with their presence. For a moment, the underdogs looked destined to finish the half with a flurry, but Leao, with his brilliance, and Palhinha, with a bit of panache, hit the woodwork as Slovenia walked away with a sigh of relief.
The final touch of the half, and that could've been a golden one for Portugal. Rafael Leao spells a cast on the two defenders swarming him and slashes a cutback for Palhinha at the edge of the area. His effort is perfect, rather almost perfect. The ball kisses the side-netting and rolls out.
THAT WAS TRAVELLING!
Rafael Leao collects the ball just into the opposition half and makes a blistering run up the pitch. One after the other all the Slovenian defenders were turned into mere audiences but Vanja Drkusic had the presence of mind to bring down Leao with a crunching challenge.
The referee quickly reached out to his pocket to show the first yellow of the night and Portugal have a freekick in a dangerous area.
That could've been an early chance for Portugal, as Bruno Fernandes whips an inviting cross into the area. The ball glides over a leaping Ronaldo but before it can fall into the clutches of Leao, Jan Karnicnik masterfully clears it away.
Portugal get the ball rolling; they'll attack from right to left.
Now that we have the pre-match rambling out of the way, it's time for the hair-raising anthems.
The 39-year-old is appearing in his sixth EURO finals in Germany; he holds records for the most goals (14) and appearances (28) at the tournament.
Ronaldo hit five goals at EURO 2020, level with Czechia's Patrik Schick as the tournament's top scorer, but is yet to open his account at EURO 2024.
After resting a few of his players against Georgia, Roberto Martinez has reverted to the full-strength lineup that helped Portugal to a 0-3 victory over Turkiye. Meanwhile, suspended Erik Janža is replaced by Jure Balkovec at left-back for Slovenia.
Portugal: LWWWLW
Slovenia: DDDDWW
Portugal and Slovenia faced each other for the first time on March 26 this year. Slovenia secured a 2-0 win in a friendly match at Stadion Stožice in Ljubljana, with late goals from Adam Gnezda Čerin in the 72nd minute and Timi Elšnik in the 80th.
Roberto Martínez [Portugal]: "I think everyone in the world of football knows what Slovenia did in the three games. We know them well from the game in March and it was no surprise for us to see why they had a clean sheet against England. They have a proper organization of a club, so this is a huge credit to the work of the coach. We all know the individual quality they have, the capacity to create a lot in quick attacks. They are a very complete team, so we have to be at our best."
Matjaž Kek [Slovenia]: "I just hope the boys remain relaxed and focused. We know who we are up against. Portugal are one of the favorites to win this EURO. But we want a good result and do not care too much about how we look on the pitch. I expect we will 'suffer' in certain moments. As it stands now, everybody is in contention for this match."
Having reached the knockout phase of a major tournament for the first time, Slovenia drew their last four EURO matches. Most recently, they managed to hold off England's offensive prowess in a scoreless draw.
Heading into this last-16 contest, Portugal faced a setback, suffering an unexpected 2-0 defeat to Georgia, which ended their impressive run of 12 consecutive victories in EURO qualifying and finals games. Although they had made several changes to their lineup, it did expose the chinks in their armors. Despite the defeat, the EURO 2016 champions secured the top spot in Group F.
We're inching towards the end of Round of 16 fixtures in Euro 2024, however, there are still a few high-octane clashes remaining. The final match tonight fits the billing. Cristiano Ronaldo takes center stage. Every game in the competition he partakes from here on could be his final in the continental competition. And if we know anything about the swashbuckling talisman, he yearns to burn out rather than fade away to obscurity.
Portugal have a fitting challenge to overcome. Slovenia, on paper, might seem like a pushover, but on the pitch, they've been far from it. Matjaž Kek's side are unbeaten in the competition, albeit with three draws. However, those one-pointers have come from fixtures against heavyweights England and the darkhorse of the tournament Denmark. If A Seleção aren't wary, Slovenia might pull the first upset of the knockouts (I'm looking at you Italy).
Let me, Sayantan Guha, your commentator for the evening take you through what promises to be an enticing affair.