Portugal reach semi-finals despite not winning a single match after 90 minutes
Goalkeeper Rui Patricio successfully saved Blaszczykowski's penalty kick, helping the home team advance after a 1-1 draw with Poland after 120 minutes of play.
Poland opened the scoring in the second minute through Lewandowski but could not hold on to their advantage and were eliminated despite never having trailed at this year's Euros. The equaliser, 18-year-old midfielder Renato Sanches, and goalkeeper Patricio were Portugal's heroes in a match where superstar Cristiano Ronaldo missed too many chances.
Grosicki's cross helped Lewandowski score the second fastest goal in Euro history after one minute and 40 seconds. The fault for this goal, for Portugal, was right-back Cedric, who misjudged the landing spot, allowing the ball to land at Grosicki's feet. Pepe also made a mistake by not keeping up with Poland's most dangerous striker, Lewandowski.
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Lewandowski shined but could not help Poland advance. Photo: Reuters. |
The Bayern Munich striker was the top scorer in the Euro 2016 qualifiers but had not scored in the previous seven matches. It was thought that the striker would help Poland to overcome their thirst for goals, but Portugal showed the qualities of a big team with experienced players.
In the 33rd minute, Renato Sanches, who will be Lewandowski's team-mate at Bayern from next season, equalised. The 18-year-old midfielder's shot from outside the box, after a beautiful combination with Nani, deflected off Krychowiak and left goalkeeper Fabianski helpless. Sanches had featured in all four of Portugal's previous matches, but had started on the bench. The strike made him the youngest player to score in a Euro knockout round and the third youngest scorer in the tournament's history.
The remaining minutes of the match witnessed an unconvincing performance from Ronaldo. First, he ran down to receive a pass from Adrien Silva in the 56th minute in an open position but shot wide from a tight angle instead of passing it in. Next, Ronaldo had two unfortunate misses when he was not under any pressure from the Polish defenders. In the second situation, when he ran down to break the offside trap and received a pass from Joao Moutinho, people thought of an amateur player rather than the star who holds countless scoring records.
However, in the penalty shootout, Ronaldo was the one who created the premise to bring victory when he successfully executed the first kick. The next players of Portugal, Renato Sanches, Joao Moutinho, Nani and Quaresma all did the same. Meanwhile, on the Polish side, after three successful kicks by Lewandowski, Milik and Glik, a cruel fate called Blaszczykowski. The midfielder wearing the number 16 shirt scored the goal to bring a 1-0 victory over Ukraine and had the only goal in the match against Switzerland. However, he could not beat Rui Patricio on the 11m mark and the home team was eliminated.
According to VnExpress
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