Match Report | PORTUGAL vs SLOVENIA

Match Report | PORTUGAL vs SLOVENIA Euro 2024. Portugal on the ropes! Slovenia, the colossal underdogs, dug deep and held mighty Portugal to a standstill for over 120 intense minutes! Every free kick, every attack, even a Ronaldo penalty – Slovenia shut it all down! But when the final whistle blew and the dreaded penalty shootout loomed, Slovenia’s magic touch vanished!

This underdog story, a team ranked 51 spots below Portugal, saw their dreams dashed as goalie Diogo Costa stood tall, denying ALL THREE of Slovenia’s penalties! With their manager banished to the stands, the Slovenians, who had hustled and battled all game, found themselves outmatched in the blink of six kicks.

Portugal, despite their struggles, now face France in the quarterfinals! Let’s be honest, they weren’t exactly firing on all cylinders. Ronaldo, in particular, looked off. He even cried during halftime of extra time after Jan Oblak, Slovenia’s amazing keeper, denied his penalty in the 105th minute! But hey, karma! In the shootout, it was Oblak’s opposite number, the Swiss-born Costa, who stole the show. Every. Single. Save.

Josip Ilicic, Jure Balkovec, Benjamin Verbic – all three fell victim to Costa’s brilliance. Ronaldo, after a dramatic run-up with more feints than a magician, slotted home Portugal’s first. He even apologized to the fans after! Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva followed suit, sealing the deal and sending Slovenia packing.

Portugal barely scraped by, that’s for sure. Coach Roberto Martinez threw everything he had at Slovenia in extra time, but even then, he hesitated to sub Ronaldo. After his missed penalty, Pepe got caught napping by young Slovenian Benjamin Sesko, but thankfully, the youngster couldn’t capitalize. Slovenia deserves massive credit for their fight, with their center-back duo of Drkusic and Bijol putting in a monster performance. Speaking of Drkusic, he gave away the penalty in extra time with a foul on Jota, but Oblak, once again, came up huge with a stunning save. Before that, Martinez sacrificed some of Portugal’s early-game fluidity by subbing out playmaker Vitinha for Jota. A nervy win, but a win nonetheless. Portugal marches on!