Portugal and Slovenia fought for a quarter-final place against France.
Cristiano Ronaldo missed, and missed, and missed penalties.
In the end, he was vindicated – here are three points from the round of 16.
Cristiano Ronaldo, how are you?
There is no doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the world’s best soccer players ever. However, his first half against Slovenia did not testify to that. It was like there was a curse on Portugal’s number 7. His teammates hit the posts they are supposed to hit and Ronaldo took the runs he was supposed to. The positions were not the least bit wrong, Ronaldo’s timing and edge, on the other hand – it was as if blown away. In the first half, he missed the ball (!) on three occasions. Something that the old Ronaldo had never done. In a way, it hurts to see how much the 39-year-old wants and how much he toils to get to positions. It makes it even worse to see him throw away those chances, time and time again. The penalty kick in extra time looked like the icing on the cake. Does it have to do with age, the quality of the Saudi Pro League, brain ghosts or something else? I don’t know, but I wonder how he is doing. A little better considering Portugal progressed and he got revenge with his goal in the penalty shootout.
Slovenia weathered Portugal’s dawn offensive – did everything they could
It was a Portugal that started the match hard, tough and with a monstrous offensive. It was clear that they wanted to start the match strong, probably with the desire to create a smaller goal buffer early in the match. It was close (read the previous point) and they might have scored at least one goal in the first 20 minutes but Slovenia held out. With a strong defensive frame and hard-working players, they stood up to the early red-green offensive.
Not only did they cope with the dawn offensive, they also held off the artillery that Portugal represented for large parts of the match. Defensively executed football is not for everyone – but for me. Seeing a team so well organized and fighting hard warms my heart at least, certainly Janne Andersson’s as well. This time it didn’t go all the way, but they should be proud of their tournament and the effort they stand for today.
Diogo Costa stepped up – saved a real bottom nip
The story was written. Oblak took Ronaldo’s penalty in extra time and was a giant throughout the match. Now only Slovenia would beat Portugal on penalties and round off this magical saga until Monday night in Frankfurt. Instead, another goalkeeper – Diogo Costa – stepped forward and rewrote history. Three consecutive penalty saves, all absolutely world-class, took Portugal to the quarter-finals and a whole nation could breathe out of what would otherwise have been a huge fiasco. On top of that, Ronaldo had to do it right by taking his penalty. That in itself is an achievement, but nowhere near as great as Costa’s.