Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal teammates have been fired from the European Championships taking place in Germany.
After 120 minutes of barren football, France emerged victorious 5-3 over Portugal on penalties in Friday’s quarter-final in Hamburg.
Diego Costa, who saved three penalties in Portugal’s last-16 win over Slovakia, was average in Friday’s shoot-out as all five French players put the ball into the net.
Kylian Mbappé did not take a penalty in the shoot-out and had to be taken off in extra time after suffering another nose problem.
Five perfect for France
It was Dembélé who grabbed the first goal for France and sent Costa the wrong way.
Ronaldo came out for Portugal and also did what was necessary by scoring.
Next up for France was Fofana, who brilliantly placed his shot right down the middle to keep France ahead.
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Bernardo Silva made it 2-2 with a shot that went straight into the edge of the area.
Kounde, who was brilliant in defence for France, stepped up and placed the ball into the top corner to make it 3-2 to France.
Then came the decisive moment: substitute Jao Félix had to take the third kick for Portugal.
Felix got past the goalkeeper but his shot only crashed off the post, much to the delight of the roaring French fans.
France took control when youngster Barcola calmly converted his penalty, making the score 4-2.
Although Mendes kept Portugal alive with a perfect penalty into the top corner, making the score 4-3, it was not enough to deny France passage to the semi-finals as Hernandez fired his spot kick into the bottom corner to win the shoot-out 5-3 for France.
France will now play Spain in the semi-final after the Spanish team defeated hosts Germany in an earlier quarter-final encounter.
Ronaldo’s legacy
While it is the end of the road for Ronaldo and his Portuguese teammates, the 39-year-old’s legacy remains.
Ronaldo began his journey in 2004 when he made his debut against Greece.
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He equalled Platini’s record of nine goals at the end of UEFA EURO 2016 and continued to make his mark by scoring five more goals at UEFA EURO 2020.
Ronaldo has also played in six Euro tournaments, including Euro 2024. He is the only player to have played in six Euro tournaments.
He has also played in 30 European Championship finals, a feat no other player has achieved.
Ronaldo is also the only player to have scored three or more goals at multiple European Championships, scoring a total of five goals at Euro 2020.