Portugal ‘pen’ an epic to reach last-8
Frankfurt, July 2
No one does high drama in international football to such an operatic extent as Cristiano Ronaldo.
3 Portugal’s Diogo Costa, 24, became the first men’s goalkeeper to ever save three penalties in a shootout at the European Championship
Portugal are heading to a blockbuster quarterfinal with France at the European Championship after their star captain generated compelling viewing on centre stage of the victory over Slovenia on Monday.
Winning a penalty shootout 3-0 after a 0-0 game against the 57th-ranked team in world might not sound much.
But there were tears, lots of them, from Ronaldo; an apology in prayer-form to his fans, who responded with adulation; extravagant arm gestures of anger, frustration and exasperation; chances wasted and denied to make more tournament history; a renewed duel with an old rival goalkeeper; and ultimately redemption and victory.
In Munich, Netherlands’ Cody Gakpo scored his third goal of the tournament and Donyell Malen added two more as the Dutch burst back into form with a lively display to defeat Romania 3-0 in their last-16 fixture. — Agencies
