In a thrilling Euro 2024 last-16 clash on Monday, goalkeeper Diogo Costa saved all three penalties as Portugal triumphed 3-0 in a shootout against a resilient Slovenia, who had held them to a 0-0 draw after extra time. Despite a missed penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal advanced to a quarter-final meeting with France in Hamburg on Friday.
Costa’s standout performance saw him make crucial saves from Josip Iličić, Jure Balkovec, and Benjamin Verbič in the shootout, becoming the first goalkeeper to save three penalties in a Euros shootout. His heroics overshadowed a largely lackluster team performance.
“This is probably the best game of my life,” Costa said. “I focused on doing what I had to do. I went with my gut feeling. Of course, we had analyzed the penalty takers, but players change how they shoot. I’m very happy and very excited to have helped the team.”
Ronaldo, in particular, faced scrutiny after missing several opportunities, including a crucial penalty in extra time. The miss left him in tears, needing consolation from his teammates.
“Even the strongest people have their bad days. I was at rock bottom when the team needed me the most,” Ronaldo admitted in a post-match interview before breaking down again. “Sadness at the start is joy at the end. That’s what football is. Moments, inexplicable moments. I feel sad and happy at the same time. But the important thing is to enjoy it. The team did an extraordinary job. We fought right to the end and, if you analyze the game, I think we deserved it because we had more authority.”
Portugal was awarded a penalty late in the first half of extra time when Diogo Jota’s run into the box was illegally stopped by defender Vanja Drkusić, who narrowly avoided a second yellow card. Despite having a reliable penalty taker in Bruno Fernandes, Ronaldo elected to take the shot, which was brilliantly saved by Slovenia’s Jan Oblak, pushing the ball onto the post.
Ronaldo, aiming to become the oldest scorer in Euros history at 39, struggled throughout the match, missing several headed chances and four free-kicks that posed little threat to Oblak.
Slovenia defended admirably, often sending long balls to forwards Andraž Šporar and Benjamin Šeško in an attempt to capitalize on their limited possession. Šeško had two one-on-one opportunities from Pepe’s mistakes, missing the first and having the second well-saved by Costa.
Šeško’s missed chance late in extra time haunted Slovenia as they crumbled under the pressure of the shootout, much to Ronaldo’s relief, who scored the first penalty for Portugal.
Slovenia exits the tournament after drawing all four of their matches in Germany, yet they made history by reaching the knockout rounds of a major tournament for the first time.
“Unfortunately, it did not work out for us. I’m lost for words; the atmosphere here is amazing, and that’s what makes it that much more difficult,” Oblak lamented. “There’s nothing more to add. You see what happened in extra time, we had the opportunity to score, but we were probably missing a bit of luck.”
