France ended Cristiano Ronaldo’s bid to win the title at his last European Championship by beating Portugal 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out to reach the semi-finals on Friday.
After the game finished 0-0 following extra time, Portugal substitute Joao Felix hit a post with the only miss in the shoot-out and Theo Hernandez showed no sign of pressure by converting the clinching kick into the top corner.
It was a record sixth and final European Championship for the 39-year-old Ronaldo, who scored Portugal’s first penalty in the shoot-out and ended up consoling fellow veteran Pepe afterward as the 41-year-old defender cried on his captain’s shoulder.
Photo: AFP
“We need to go through this moment of our loss, which is very painful,” Pepe said.
Ronaldo’s 20-year career in the Euros included the title in 2016 — when Portugal beat France in the final — and it remains to be seen if the five-time world player of the year would continue playing for his country through to the 2026 World Cup, when he would be 41.
The victory ended the heartbreak of Kylian Mbappe and France in shoot-outs, having lost in them at their last two major tournaments — in the last 16 at the Euros in 2021 and in the 2022 World Cup final.
Photo: AP
Mbappe did not even take a penalty in the shoot-out, having been substituted after the first half of extra time following a couple of knocks to his broken nose that was covered by a protective mask.
France did not need their star player, as Ousmane Dembele, Youssouf Fofana, Jules Kounde and Bradley Barcola all found the net in the shoot-out — held in front of Portugal’s fans — before Hernandez’s coup de grace set off jubilant scenes for the French inside the stadium in Hamburg.
“It wasn’t easy,” France goalkeeper Mike Maignan said. “We didn’t always play that great, it was a complicated game. We played well defensively.”
“We got to the penalty shoot-out and didn’t waver. We can be proud of ourselves,” Maignan said.
France will play Spain in the semifinals after its extra-time win over Germany in Stuttgart, with Les Bleus staying on course for a third European Championship title after 1984 and 2000.
Didier Deschamps’ team has reached the semifinals despite no France player having scored from open play so far in the tournament.
Portugal exited having failed to score in either of its knockout games — the team beat Slovenia on penalties in the last 16 — and its final group match, leaving coach Roberto Martinez plenty of questions to answer.
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