On July 2, Beijing time, the 16th match day of the 2024 European Championship ushered in two 1/8 finals, Portugal eliminated Slovenia 3-0 through a penalty shootout, and France defeated Belgium 1-0 with this Vertonghen's own goal, and the winning two teams will face each other in the 1/4 finals.
Portugal faced Slovenia at Deutsche Bank Park, Portugal attacked around Ronaldo throughout the game, Ronaldo created danger many times, but was bravely defused by Oblak one by one.
In the 35th minute, Ronaldo took a free kick in front of the goal directly, and the ball grazed the crossbar and flew out of the bottom line.
In the 56th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo was given another free kick opportunity, and his shot was powerful but still blocked by Oblak.
In the 89th minute, Ronaldo got a chance to kill, Jota passed the ball into the penalty area, Ronaldo's left-footed shot was saved by Oblak, and the two sides went into extra time with a score of 0-0.
In the 104th minute, Ronaldo got another chance to kill the game, Jota broke into the penalty area with the ball and was kicked down by Del Cucic, the referee awarded a penalty, and Ronaldo's penalty was saved by Oblak.
After losing the point, Ronaldo's emotions fell into a state of uncontrollability, and he burst into tears on the spot.
In the 115th minute, Slovenia had the best chance of the game, 41-year-old Pepe made a fatal mistake at the back due to physical exhaustion, Sesko broke the ball and faced the goalkeeper with a single knife, Diogo Costa blocked the ball with his feet.
The two sides battled for 120 minutes without a winner, and for the first time in this European Cup, they came to a penalty shootout. In the penalty shootout, Ronaldo, B Fei and B hit one after another, Diogo Costa saved three penalties from Slovenia one after another, and finally Portugal defeated Slovenia 3-0 in a penalty shootout to advance to the top 8.
In this campaign, Diogo Costa became the first goalkeeper to save three penalties in a single penalty shootout in the European Cup, and the first goalkeeper not to miss a single penalty shootout, saving Cristiano Ronaldo who missed a penalty and Pepe who made a major mistake.
The other 1/8 final was played by France against Belgium, and the battle between the world number two and the world number three did not produce the offensive battle that fans expected. Both teams were cautious and looked for opportunities to counter-attack while defending well.
Belgium relied on Doku's individual ability to create certain chances up front, while France threatened the Belgian goal through an integrated combination. France, who created more chances, were eventually rewarded by Lady Luck when substitute Muani forced his way into the box in the 85th minute, and Vertonghen stretched out his foot to block the ball into his own goal. Vertonghen also became the ninth unlucky man to score an own goal at this European Championship.
With this lucky goal, France eliminated Belgium 1-0 to advance to the last eight. France, who have qualified for the last eight, have yet to rely on any of their own players to score in this tournament, with two of their three goals coming from an own goal and one from a penalty against Poland by Kylian Mbappe.