France forward No. 11 Ousmane Dembele (third from left) and France forward No. 10 Kylian Mbappe (second from left) celebrate with teammates after the victory during the UEFA Euro 2024 quarter-final match between Portugal and France at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg on July 5, 2024. (Photo: AFP)
HAMBURG, Germany (AFP) — Kylian Mbappe’s France beat Portugal 5-3 on penalties on Friday after 120 minutes without a goal, thanks to Theo Hernandez’s winner, in a match that will be remembered as Cristiano Ronaldo’s final game in the tournament.
France converted all of their penalties to reach the quarter-finals against Spain, with Portugal’s Joao Felix missing only one, hitting the post with their team’s third kick.
A win on penalties could be long overdue for France, who lost to Argentina on penalties in the 2022 World Cup final and were similarly eliminated at the last Euros three years ago when they were beaten by Switzerland in the round of 16.
They also lost on penalties in their last major tournament in Germany, losing to Italy in the 2006 World Cup final.
Mbappe, who missed a crucial kick against Switzerland, had already left the pitch by the time the shootout began and was replaced by Vardley Barkolla midway through extra time.
France’s other penalty goals were scored by Barkolas, Ousmane Dembele, Youssouf Fofana and Jules Kounde.
Mbappe endured a frustrating night as he continued to try to return to his best form in the tournament but looked subdued wearing a mask to protect his nose, which he broke during France’s opening game against Austria.
At least he will have another chance to star in the semi-final, but at 39 years old, this is likely to be Ronaldo’s final Euros appearance.
This will be his sixth European Championship but he has conceded goals in all five games he has played for Portugal and failed to add to his tournament record 14 goals in Germany.
He scored Portugal’s first penalty goal but Roberto Martinez’s team were eliminated after more than six hours of play without a goal.
They beat Slovenia on penalties after a goalless draw in the last 16, but this time fell short in a disappointing game in Hamburg.
Both teams have underperformed in their matches so far in the tournament, with France in particular having advanced so far without a player scoring a goal from open play.
– A frustrating night for Mbappé –
Randal Kolo Muani came off the bench to help create the late own goal that gave France the win over Belgium last time out and was rewarded with a place in the starting line-up.
Eduardo Camavinga also came in for the suspended Adrien Rabiot in midfield, while Antoine Griezmann was deployed as a number 10 behind Kolo Muani and Mbappe.
While France are content to stay away from the opposition and rely on their excellent defending, they have struggled to play with any real intensity when in possession of the ball.
They had little possession of the ball in this match and it was often a disappointing performance, but they did briefly bounce back in the second half.
Portugal began to cause problems by sending runners from midfield into the penalty area, firstly when Bruno Fernandes’ shot was saved by Mike Maignan just after the hour mark.
Vitinha had a chance shortly afterwards when he latched on to a low cross from Rafael Leão, but Maignan, determined not to concede an early goal from open play in the tournament, made a save and then reacted quickly to deny Ronaldo a backheel shot from close range.
France fought back and Kolo Muani played a one-two with Koundé, but Ruben Dias intercepted the shot to save Portugal.
Deschamps then replaced Antoine Griezmann with Dembele, who immediately created a fine chance for Camavinga, but the midfielder smashed wide.
The game then began to inevitably head towards extra time, with Ronaldo missing a good chance from substitute Francisco Conceição’s cut-back.
It was too much for Mbappe and the France captain watched the end of extra time from the bench before Maignan saved Nuno Mendes’ shot in the dying seconds of the 120th minute and a penalty shootout ensued.
The shootout unfolded in the Portuguese half of the Volksparkstadion, with Maignan unable to save but not needing to either.
Portugal’s Diogo Costa saved three Slovenia penalties in the previous match, but this time he was unable to save any.
