Portugal secured its spot in the UEFA Euro Championship 2024 on Monday, July 1, after defeating Slovenia on penalties.
In the last match of the round of 16 tie before the quarterfinals in Frankfurt, Portugal secured an emotional yet dramatic win after the first penalty shootout of the tournament.
Despite multiple attempts from both teams, no one succeeded in scoring a goal for their team.
As per UEFA, the game remained ‘finely poised’ with the score deadlock even after extra time. The game was ultimately decided after a penalty shootout.
Portugal won the match after three successful spot kicks for Ronaldo, Fernandes, and Bernardo Silva. But Diego Costa made the biggest contribution to the win with his clinical performance, saving three goals for the team.
Costa, Player of the Match and Portugal goalkeeper, said after the match, “When I made the save from Šeško in extra time, I thought I had to do it. I read his body language and was able to help the team. This is probably the best game of my life. I focused on doing what I had to do.”
Costa added, “I went with my gut feeling. Of course, we had analysed the penalty takers, but players change, and they change how they shoot. I am very happy and very excited to have helped the team."
Portugal will now face off against World Cup runners-up France in the quarterfinal at Hamburg, which is scheduled for Friday, July 5, at 9 p.m. local time (GMT).