In the quarterfinals of the European Cup in the early morning of July 6, Beijing time, France played against Portugal, and the all-time goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo and the new generation of superstar Mbappe went head-to-head. The two teams have met in three consecutive European Championships, with Portugal narrowly beating France 1-0 in the Euro 2016 final to win their first European Championship title. In the last European Championship, the two teams drew 2-2 in the Group of Death. Portugal is ranked 6th in the world and France is ranked 2nd in the world, both of which are the favorites to win this European Cup.
Portugal had a mixed bag in the first round of the knockout round, with goalkeeper Costa God saving the team from the penalty shoot-out. The attacking side relied more on Cristiano Ronaldo's central playmaking and Bernardo and Bruno Bruno's creativity, but they have failed to score in the last two games, and the defence has been relatively solid, but there are still some holes in the face of quick counter-attacks.
France have failed to score in their first four games, but have conceded just one goal in four games and made it to the quarter-finals with three consecutive clean sheets. The central midfield defence, led by N'Golo Kante and Saliba, made it difficult for opponents to break through. Midfielder N'Golo Kante's interception and organisational skills were crucial, but the attacking line up front was in poor form and Mbappe was unable to unleash a stronger attacking ability.
The two teams played more cautiously in the opening stages, with Portugal's defensive intensity being higher and several key tackles by Palhinha to hit France's fast-break momentum. France strengthened Kante's defensive coverage on the left side to cope with Portugal's wing advance, but the team's backfield was slow to heat up, Maignan received the ball and gave the opponent a corner kick opportunity, B Fei's long-range shot from outside the penalty area hit Saliba and went out of the bottom line, France's attack on the right side accelerated, and many quick transmissions formed a breakthrough, but the Portuguese defense was as solid as an iron bucket, goalkeeper Costa saved Theo Hernandez's long-range shot, and successfully blocked Mbappe's cross. In the first half, the two sides exchanged blanks, the overall rhythm was relatively stable, the two teams did not expose flaws in the defense, making it difficult for the other side to play offensive efficiency, Portugal had 2 shots on goal 0 shots on target, France had only 1 shot on goal from 3 shots,
Mbappe and Kante collided with the wall and the volley was saved, B received a cross and hit the header in the face, B Fernandes and Cancelo failed to rewrite the score, Vitinha received Leao's cross and pushed the near corner was also saved by the goalkeeper.
France gradually gained the upper hand and suppressed the siege in front of the goal, Tchouameni shot straight out of the line, Muani's shot was blocked by Dias, and Dembele's cross was connected to Camavinga's volley at the post. Portugal made personnel changes, with Conceição and Semedo coming on to replace B Fernandes and Joao Cancelo to continue their attacking vigour. France also traded Thuram for Muani. In the final stages, Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick hit the wall and Kante's two long-range shots were denied by Costa, and Pepe successfully defended Thuram's breakthrough on the right. Mbappe fired high into the far corner, and France set off an attacking climax, but still couldn't score, and the score was still 0-0 at the end of regular time.
In the middle of the half, the two teams continued to engage in high-intensity confrontations, and Ronaldo was entangled by Te'o and had no chance to shoot, but the veteran Pepe defused France's offensive threat many times with solid defense. Mbappe still failed to find his best form, failing to form a tacit bond with his team-mates on several key passes, and at one point overtaking Mendes with outstanding explosiveness to get the ball down, but still couldn't get a shot on goal. At half-time, Fernandes fired a direct shot from a free-kick and missed the chance to change the scoreline.
France was a little passive after the start of extra time, Conceição slipped through the bottom line and knocked through the inverted triangle, Ronaldo missed a good chance to score with a strong shot in front of the small penalty area, and Leao's shot in the box was blocked by Upamecano. Portugal's defense remained solid at the back, allowing two quick strikes from Dembele and Thuram to no avail, and back in the second half of extra-time, Mbappe was replaced by Barcora and the 39-year-old Ronaldo continued to play. In the 119th minute, the right side of seat B broke through and sent a wonderful pass, and Mendes followed up with a low shot in the middle and was saved.
In the penalty shootout, Ronaldo and Bernardo scored in the first two rounds, Dembele and Fofana also missed shots, Kounde scored in the third round, Felix hit the post, both teams hit in the fourth round, and Te'o scored in the fifth round to end the game. Two-time champions France sent away former champion Portugal 5-3, returning to the semi-finals of the European Championship after eight years, and reaching the semi-finals for the sixth time.
Cristiano Ronaldo ended his last game of the European Championship with 0 goals in 4 games, and has scored 3 goals in 21 European Championship & World Cup knockout rounds in his career. After the game, Pepe burst into tears, and Ronaldo gave him a hug and comfort.