Football is a funny game. In an instant a hero becomes a villain and an ordinary player turns out to be a savior. And a similar event unfolded during Portugal vs Slovenia Round of 16 clash in UEFA Euro 2024. The Porto keeper turned up big to save three straight penalties as Portugal reach the quarter finals.
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Boring 90 minutes of football!
Portugal started the game on a positive note, eager to grab early goals. But the Slovenia side turned up to be highly resilient. They continued to thwart every Portuguese attack to keep the score line intact. Portugal came close to scoring but didn’t thoroughly test Jan Oblak.
Cristiano Ronaldo wasted a couple of freekicks as the game eventually headed into extra time. At one stage of the game Portugal was so dominant that they had 70% of the ball possession but couldn’t put the ball into the back of the net.
Cristiano Ronaldo misses Penalty!
In the dying minutes of the first half of extra time, Portugal got a life line. Substitute forward Diego Jota was fouled inside the opponent’s box as the referee pointed to the spot. Up stepped the most confident player, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has previously scored many penalties against Oblak.
But this time things didn’t go smoothly. Ronaldo went for the power, but the Slovenian skipper correctly anticipated the side and dived correctly to pull out a blinding save. At the break of the first half, Cristiano Ronaldo was spotted crying after potential handing out the game to the opposition.
In the second half of extra time, Pepe misjudged a counter attack and stopped abruptly. Young Benjamin Sesko breezed past the 41-year old Pepe to come 1v1 vs Diogo Costa. The Porto keeper put out a blinding save to keep Portugal into the contest as the game headed into the penalties.
Diogo Costa – The New Hero of Portugal
The 2026 Euro champions needed a moment of brilliance and it came from their keeper. Josip Ilicic stepped up to take the first penalty, and it was saved by Costa. Advantage Portugal, as Ronaldo yet again stepped up. This time, he slotted the ball into the back of the net, no celebration, only with folded hands to apologise to the crowd.
Jure Balkovec next came to try out his luck. But he too like Ilicic failed to score as Diogo Costa yet again jumped correctly to pull out a blinding save, a second in a row. Next came the Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes. He changed his stance, a small step, almost walking and sent Oblak the wrong way to score his side’s second goal.
Benjamin Verbic came next, on a potential decider as he had to score. But the footballing gods probably wanted to see yet another Diogo Costa brilliance as the goalie pulled out yet another save. With three consecutive saves, Portugal needed another goal to make it to the quarters. Up stepped a calm Bernardo Silva and he dispatched it with ease, as Portugal survive a massive upset in UEFA Euro 2024.
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