Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo turns tears from missed penalty into ‘joy’ in shootout – San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during their penalty shootout win over Slovenia in a round of 16 match of Euro 2024 on Monday in Frankfurt, Germany. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

A match full of personal drama and tears for Cristiano Ronaldo ended with a European Championship quarter-final for Portugal after they defeated Slovenia on penalties in Frankfurt, Germany.

The round of 16 went all the way through as Ronaldo’s penalty kick in extra time in the 114th minute was saved by Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak, causing him to burst into tears and be consoled by all teammates before play resumed. Regulation time and extra time ended 0-0.

When it came to penalties, Ronaldo scored his and Portugal’s first goal, and teammate Diogo Costa saved all three of Slovenia’s penalties, taken by Josip Ilicic, Jure Balkovec and Benjamin Verbič.

Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva also scored for Portugal, meaning the penalty shootout was decided 3-0 with two penalties remaining.

“Sadness at the beginning is joy at the end. That’s what football is. Moments, inexplicable moments,” Ronaldo said during an on-field interview immediately after the final whistle. “You can’t explain it.”

“A direct shot to give the team the lead. I couldn’t do that. Oblak saved well… I have to see the penalty, I don’t know if I shot well or badly, but I haven’t missed a single shot all year and when I needed it most, Oblak saved it.”

Portugal will face France in the quarter-finals in Hamburg on Friday, a repeat of the 2016 final, which Portugal won in Paris after Ronaldo was injured.

Costa had already made his first save as Ronaldo went to take the first Portuguese penalty of the shootout, firing the ball low past Oblak, who dived to his right.

Ronaldo looked apologetically at the massed Portuguese fans behind the goal and clasped his hands as if in prayer. The fans responded with a roar of “Siuuuu” – their football icon’s signature goal-scoring cry.

Costa answered the rest of those prayers with as good a penalty shootout as any goalkeeper has ever had, and he was in tears then too.

“This is probably the best match of my life,” Costa said in translated comments. “I concentrated as hard as I could. I took several breaths and followed my feeling.”

Half an hour earlier, Ronaldo was upset and weeping at half-time in extra time after his penalty was saved by Oblak, diving to his left to work the ball against the post.

“We all know Cris is the hardest worker. I understand how frustrated he is,” Costa said. “For me it’s an honor to play in the same team.”

The personal duel between Ronaldo and Oblak was exciting enough in regular time alone.

It was an intensely frustrating first 90 minutes for Ronaldo, who – remarkably – was still searching for his first goal at Euro 2024.

After three free kicks and two failed headers, it looked like the Portuguese star would score with his first real chance in open play.

It came in the 89th, when he was free on goal with the ball perfectly in his stride. The left-footed shot was low and powerful, but Oblak’s block was better. Ronaldo once again held his arms up in irritation.

The intense drama for the Portuguese superstar almost overshadowed a turbulent evening for Slovenia’s rising star.

Benjamin Šeško had golden chances to win the match in the 62nd and 115th minutes, coming one-on-one with Costa after passing the 41-year-old defender Pepe.

The first was a weak shot that went wide of the target, and the second was powerful and accurate but was saved by Costa’s outstretched boot.

FRANCE 1, BELGIUM 0

Another frustrating match for Kylian Mbappé. Another disappointing performance from France at the Euros.

Didier Deschamps is not worried: his team is in the quarter-finals.

“It’s beautiful,” said the France coach after Les Bleus relied on a ninth own goal of the tournament to beat Belgium 1-0 in Düsseldorf, Germany on Monday.

A hard-fought match between neighbours and numbers 2 (France) and 3 (Belgium) failed to live up to expectations, with the only goal being a deserved one.

Second-half substitute Randal Kolo Muani turned in the penalty area and fired a shot on goal in the 85th minute. The ball deflected off Belgian defender Jan Vertonghen and went over stranded goalkeeper Koen Casteels.

“I was lucky to get my shot on target,” he said of his decisive intervention. “It was blocked, but it went in. We are very, very happy and very, very proud.”

UEFA thought differently about the destination of Kolo Muani’s shot and classified it as an own goal, the latest in a tournament full of such goals.

It is the second own goal earned by France, while Mbappé also awarded a penalty, meaning a French player has yet to score from open play.

“Even if that goal today was enough to take us to the quarter-finals, we have the opportunity to score more,” Deschamps said.

Mbappe, again wearing a mask to protect the broken nose he sustained against Austria in France’s opening match, had five of France’s 20 shots, but none were on target. He played mainly on the left flank and was well led by a Belgian defensive formation that featured Kevin De Bruyne – the team’s most creative player – as a deep-lying midfielder.

De Bruyne had more clearing headers than cutting passes before being pushed further forward in the final half hour of the game. Back in his favoured position, he created Belgium’s best chance when he played in Yannick Carrasco, who waited too long for a shot that was blocked by French left-back Theo Hernandez.

The match-winner, however, was Kolo Muani, whose last great moment at a major tournament came when he went through on goal in the dying seconds of extra time in the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina. His shot was saved by Emi Martinez, when a goal would surely have given France the title.

France’s overall performance will not quell the growing discontent among many fans who feel more can be extracted from a talented group of players, led by Mbappé, who played on the day he officially became a Real Madrid player.

However, Deschamps was pleased with his pragmatic tactics, saying: “We were intelligent, we waited and didn’t fall into their trap.”