Portugal was the clear favourite in this match. The Slovenian coaching staff understood this too. And the team’s coach Matjaz Kek had to figure out how to stop Cristiano Ronaldo and his associates.
The Portuguese quickly took the initiative and were able to exchange passes around the penalty area, but they were not allowed to do more. The crosses also did not go through: either there was not enough precision or the Slovenian defence was able to cope with the high passes. And Sochi’s defensive lineman Vanja Drkusic looked very good for the Slovenians. Time passed, but no real scoring chances appeared at Jan Oblak’s goal.
The Portuguese continued their siege of Oblak’s goal after the break. But Ronaldo’s set-pieces lacked precision and his teammates were also unable to get a shot off target. The score at regular time is 0:0.
Portugal could decide the fate of the match in the first 15 minutes of extra time. Referee Daniel Orsato awarded the Slovenians a penalty for fouling Drkusic, although at the start of Euro 2024 the referees would hardly have considered this worthy of a penalty.
Ronaldo stepped up to the spot and fired a powerful shot towards the corner, but Oblak cleared the ball away. In the 110th minute, Orsato sent the Slovenian coach off the bench and showed him a red card. But even without their mentor, they could have won if Benjamin Sheshko had used a one-on-one approach.
The result of the match was a penalty shoot-out, where Portuguese goalkeeper Diogo Costa saved all three shots and his teammates scored 3-0.
In the quarter-finals, Portugal will face the French team.
