Penalty Shootouts Is Ended
The agony France endured in penalty shootouts is ended. So too is the final European Championship won by Cristiano Ronaldo.
In a showdown of the soccer giants, it was Kylian Mbapp and not Ronaldo, his idol moving to a quarterfinal match against Spain as France beat Portugal 5-3 in a shootout following a 0-0 draw on Friday.
Theo Hernandez scored the game-winning kick into the upper corner with no pressure at all, after Portugal’s Joao Felix, a replacement, had the sole miss in the shootout, hitting the post.
In addition to scoring Portugal’s first penalty in the shootout and ending up comforting fellow veteran Pepe, the 39-year-old Ronaldo wept on his captain’s shoulder after the match, it was a record sixth and final European Championship for him.
Pepe stated, “We have to experience this extremely painful moment of our loss.”
Over the course of his 20-year Euro career, Ronaldo helped Portugal defeat France in the championship match in 2016. It is unclear if the five-time World Player of the Year will play for his nation until the 2026 World Cup, when he will be 41 years old.
Response To A Question About Whether Ronaldo’s Match
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez stated that everything was too raw. At this moment, no individual decisions are being made; instead, we are losing as a team. After losing to them in the round of 16 in the 2021 Euros and the 2022 World Cup final, Mbapp and France had just experienced heartbreak due to the loss, which was resolved in shootouts.
That was the last time Les Bleus had won in a shootout, 26 years after defeating the Italians in the 1998 World Cup quarters. Prior to that, the French also lost to Italy in the 2006 World Cup final on penalty kicks.
With his nose injured and covered in a protective mask, Mbapp was substituted during halftime of extra time and didn’t even receive a penalty this time. Captain France was worn out, according to coach Didier Deschamps.
The French fans in the Hamburg stadium were ecstatic after Hernndez’s coup de grace, but Les Bleus did not need their star player as Ousmane Dembele, Youssouf Fofana, Bradley Barcola, and Jules Kounde all hit the net in the shootout staged at the end amid Portugal’s boisterous supporters.
Mike Maignan, the France custodian, stated that it wasn’t simple. We weren’t always so good; the game was challenging.
Pride In Hearts
We didn’t falter until the penalty shootout. We have pride in who we are. Following defeating Germany in extra time in Stuttgart earlier on Friday, Les Bleus will now take on Spain in the semifinals of the European Championship, continuing their quest for a third title following 1984 and 2000.
Even though no French player has scored from open play in the competition thus far, Deschamps’ squad has advanced to the semifinals. Luckily for Les Bleus, they have excelled on the other end, giving up just one goal—a retaken penalty by Poland’s Robert Lewandowski during the group round.
At a big tournament, defense is crucial, and we play excellent defense, according to Deschamps. It’s preferable to not give up a lot of goals when you don’t score many either.
However, we must score more goals because our opponents are the ones who control the game.
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