France's William Saliba and his teammates celebrating their victory over Portugal
France have advanced to the semi-final of the 2024 European Championship.
The French team defeated Portugal 5-3 in penalties in the quarter-final encounter at the Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, on Friday.
The match ended goalless after 120 minutes of football that failed to meet expectations.
Both nations failed to play to live up to their full potential, with shots from Theo Hernadez and Kylian Mbappe the only real chances of a turgid first half.
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The teams improved their performances after the interval, particularly the Selecao, with chances for Bruno Fernandes, Joao Cancelo, and Rafael Leao.
The Portuguese had more opportunities in extra time but could not score, and the tie went to the lottery of penalties to decide the winner.
Ronaldo, goalless in his final Euro tournament, converted his kick in the shootout, but Joao Felix missed before Hernandez sent Costa the wrong way to send Didier Deschamps’ goal-shy side into the last four of the tournament.
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France will face Spain, who dumped hosts Germany out with a 2-1 win in extra-time earlier in the day, in the semi-final.
Mikel Merino scored the all-important winner in the 119th minute after Florian Wirtz’s 89th-minute goal had cancelled Dani Olmo’s strike after the interval to force the additional period. Dani Carvajal was shown a red card for two bookings and will miss the semi-final match against France.
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