The quarter-final between Portugal and France was not a cracking story. After 120 minutes, the match was goalless. That despite a great Portuguese position in the final seconds.
The match was decided on penalty kicks and there France was the strongest. The Portuguese Joao Felix fired his penalty into the post – while France were one hundred percent.
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Theo Hernandez was the last Frenchman to step forward and slot his penalty to make it 5-3 behind Portugal’s Diogo Costa.
This puts France against Spain in the semi-finals.
– We wanted much more than a quarter-final, but at the same time we met a fantastic team so we have to accept this, says the Portuguese Bernardo Silva, who is a regular at Manchester City, to SVT Sport.
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Hear a disappointed Bernardo Silva after the shootout Photo: SVT
Maignan: “Showed mental strength”
Goalkeeper Mike Maignan became one of France’s heroes.
– We knew it would be a tough match, but we were solid in defense, showed mental strength and were cool during the penalty shootout. That was the difference, he says.
Defense attorney William Saliba agrees, but also points out:
– You can’t leave any breadcrumbs for Ronaldo, and we knew that. We defended as a team and Mike (Maignan) kept us in the game.
Clip: Watch all the penalties in the quarter-finals
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All penalties in the quarter-final between Portugal and France. Photo: Andreea Alexandru
European Championship
Portugal
3 – 5
0-0 (Full Time)
France