Julius OkoriePortugal Scale Through
Portugal Captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, is a relieved man after Portugal survived a nail-biting encounter against Slovenia, to reach the quarterfinal of the ongoing Euro championship on Monday night in Germany.
Slovenia put up a fight to the finish performance, refusing to cave in as the match dragged to full and extra time with no goals from either side. Very rampant Ronaldo and his teammates tried everything in the books to end the encounter within regulation and extra time, practically firing from all angles to no avail.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe zenith of frustration came in the 105th minute of the match, when Slovenia goalkeeper, Jan Oblak, brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s penalty forcing the Al Nassr talisman to burst into tears.
The tears of sorrow for the former Manchester United ace, was however replaced by tears of joy, after Portugal scored three goals in three kicks during the penalty shoot-out with Slovenia who had been dogged fighters all day, but failed to convert any of their three penalties as Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa saved all.
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Saving Penalties In European Championship
Diogo Costa is the first goalkeeper in history to save three penalties in a shootout in a European Championship tie.
It was double delight for Ronaldo who was not only grabbing his first goal in this Championship but also enjoying the goodwill of goalkeeper Diogo Costa whose superb performance ensured that Portugal hit the quarters where they will face France in what could mark end of the road for either Portugal or France in Hamburg on Friday night
Earlier, France had staggered into the quarterfinals after luckily overcoming Belgium. The match was heading into extra time when Randel Kolo Muani strike in the 85th minute deflected off defender Jan Vertonghen and past goalkeeper Koen Casteels to seal victory.
Portugal Or France Who Leaves The Stage?
Riding into the quarterfinal on the back of an own goal, the 2018 World Cup winners will need to dig deeper ahead of their clash with Portugal, a match in which analysts say there will be no time to blink.
Meanwhile, round of 16 matches will be concluded today, with the two last quarterfinalist expected to emerge. In the first match Romania take on Netherlands while Austria battle Turkey.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
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