France Outlast Portugal on Penalties, Advance to Euro Semifinals
Perhaps the most hyped match of the Euros so far turned out to be a marathon of missed chances. With stars like Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo, Antoine Griezmann, and Bruno Fernandes on the pitch today, goals were expected. None came. Massive chances fell to both sides with Ronaldo, Eduardo Camavinga, Ousmane Dembele, and Rafael Leao all having chances to be heroes for their nations. In the end, it went to a penalty shootout, with the decisive moment being when Portugal substitute Joao Felix hit the left upright. France made all of their own, winning 5-3 on penalties.
Starting with the victors, a few performances stand out. Mbappe, masked due to a broken nose, was poor. I still don’t think he should have been substituted. I was and still am against the substitution of Griezmann but his replacement, Dembele, was incredible. He was France’s lone attacking threat for nearly an hour of game time, and it worked! N’Golo Kante was brilliant as usual, winning the ball and pushing counterattacks. William Saliba was a rock at the back again, and Mike Maignan bailed France out many times in goal. Theo Hernandez scored the winning penalty and was brilliant in both attack and defense at left-back. Aurelien Tchoumeni was typically industrious in midfield. Credit to these men who kept France alive despite some poor decision-making from manager Didier Deschamps and a lack of attacking threat from everyone outside of Dembele and Griezmann. Somehow, France has not scored a non-own goal from open play and advanced to the Semifinals. That’s the first time such an occurrence has happened at the Euros.
I need to preface this section of the article by saying that I have great respect for Cristiano Ronaldo and what he has accomplished. While I don’t think he is greater than Lionel Messi, I believe there is a substantial gap between second-place Ronaldo and the next best player in the pantheon of great footballers. All of that being said, this ending was obvious. Not to pat myself on the back, but I saw it coming a mile away. I could see it a year and a half ago when Ronaldo was benched at the World Cup, his replacement scored a hat-trick, and when Portugal got eliminated their manager was sacked immediately. Ronaldo runs the show.
Ronaldo used to be able to make up for his controlling attitude toward the Portuguese national team. He always found ways to get his name on the score sheet, even when he added nothing else to the team. I would argue that since Ronaldo transitioned to a number nine after leaving Real Madrid, he has hurt Portugal more than helped them. He is stunting the growth of perhaps the most well-rounded team at the Euros. How must Bruno Fernandes feel being hauled off the field when he offers a much more attacking threat than Ronaldo? How must Bernardo Silva feel when there is a free kick from the right side of the box and Ronaldo wants to shoot it? In a goalscoring position, Ronaldo can be forgiven for not offering anything out of possession, but he also offers nothing in possession. He doesn’t touch the ball much, and he doesn’t create chances for others, something Messi has given his career a second life doing. This was a special Portugal team, maybe the most special of Ronaldo’s career, and they went out accommodating for their best-ever player who would not let the game go. It’s the curse of greatness I suppose.
Portugal will hold their heads high knowing they have a bright future built around Fernandes, Silva, Leao, Vitinha, Joao Palhinha, and many others. However, it is France moving on to the Semifinals. They continue to be the model team when it comes to grinding out tournament wins. They never make it look pretty, but I’m sure Portugal would be fine with an ugly win seeing that they are going home.
