Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal were almost on the brink of being ousted, however, Diogo Costa was not ready to go home so soon. The Portugal custodian pulled off three back-to-back saves in the penalty shootout after Portugal vs Slovenia ended in a cagey draw after 120 minutes. Thus Portugal defeated the underdogs to set up a UEFA Euro 2024 quarterfinal clash with France.
Diogo Costa makes a triple save in penalties
Playing out a rather unimpressive draw in the regulation time, the Euro 2016 champions were on the edge of being ousted as underdogs Slovenia held them. Cristiano Ronaldo broke down after missing a spot kick as the game rolled to the penalty shootout, for the first time in Euro 2024.
However, custodian Diogo Costa decided to take charge of their fate as he made three back-to-back crucial saves. Costa denied Josip Ilicic, Jure Balkovec and Benjamin Verbic from the spot as Portugal went 3-0 up to advance to the Euro 2024 quarterfinals. With that, he became the first goalkeeper in UEFA Euros history to save three penalties. He also kept a clean sheet for 120 minutes.
Costa denied Benjamin Sesko from close range
Costa also pulled off a brilliant one-on-one save as Benjamin Sesko almost gave Slovenia the lead in the dying minutes of the second half. Pepe brought down a high ball but then stumbled, which allowed Sesko to run clean through on goal! He only had Costa to beat, but the goalkeeper stuck out his left leg to make a huge save to keep Portugal in the game until the last minute.
