Crucial moments: Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio dives to his left to save Poland’s Jakub Blaszczykowski’s spot-kick at Marseille, Thursday
Marseille, July 1: Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal battled their way to a place in the European 2016 last four here Thursday winning a penalty shootout 5-3 against Poland in a tense quarterfinal. The regulation and extra-time had failed to break the 1-1 deadlock.
Teenage sensation Renato Sanches, who scored Portugal’s goal and smashed home one of the penalties, said it was a ‘wonderful moment for the team and for me for scoring’.
“People criticise us but we don’t care, because we are in the semis,” Sanches asserted, after Portugal reached the semifinals for the fourth time in the last five European Championships.
Poland had started strongly, with Robert Lewandowski scoring his first goal of Euro 2016 inside two minutes in the clash before 18-year-old Sanches, his new teammate at Bayern Munich, equalised with a powerfully driven shot. The game then went through extra-time deadlocked at 1-1.
Goalkeeper Rui Patricio and Ricardo Quaresma were Portugal’s heroes in the shootout. Ronaldo was among the players fist-pumping when Patricio dived to his left to save Jakub Blaszczykowski’s tame fourth shot for the Poles, who had reached the quarterfinals for the first time. Quaresma was next up for Portugal and made no mistake firing high into the net to beat Poland goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
“It hurts and it will hurt for a long time,” Lewandowski said as Ronaldo celebrated taking the latest step towards winning a first major international trophy with Portugal.
Poland made a blistering start to the game. After barely 100 seconds, Kamil Grosicki hurried past Southampton right-back Cedric Soares to deliver a great cross that Lewandowski drove past a flailing Rui Patricio at his near post.
But Portugal came back slowly but surely. Ronaldo hit the defensive wall with one-free kick and Fabianski had no trouble with Ronaldo’s 18-yard drive from a Nani cross.
German referee Felix Brych waved away Ronaldo’s claims for a penalty on 31 minutes despite replays suggesting the Real Madrid star was bundled over by Polish centre-back Michal Pazdan as he went to meet a cross.
Sanches made amends for Portugal less than two minutes later with a stunning leveller on his first start at Euro 2016. The midfielder collected Nani’s cutback from the right side of the area and hit a fierce shot that deflected off Grzegorz Krychowiak and beat Fabianski at his near post.
After Poland had failed to make use of two threatening moves down the left after the restart, it was the turn for Ronaldo to trouble the opposition defence. But Friday his normally deadly finishing was amiss. He skewed a great chance into the side-netting from Nani’s superb ball in behind the defence and then on the hour, Ronaldo completely mis-kicked a shot after an exchange between Joao Mario and Nani, with the ball falling for him. AFP