France are through to the Euro 2024 semifinals, thanks to a penalty shootout win against Portugal. They will face Spain in the next round, after Germany’s exit.
Portugal’s Joao Felix missed what proved the decisive spot kick in Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion on Friday night, sending France through to the Euro 2024 semifinals.
Joao Felix’s shot against the post was the only miss of the shootout, as France won 5-3 on penalties following a 0-0 draw after extra time.
Theo Hernandez netted France’s fifth penalty to seal the win; there was no need for a 10th and final spot kick from Portugal.
Portuguese veteran superstar Cristiano Ronaldo played all 120 minutes and scored his penalty.
But his bid to repeat the fairytale of Euro 2016 faltered at the last, in what the 39-year-old has hinted might be his last major international tournament.
France, meanwhile, survived a shootout without their star and captain Kylian Mbappe, who was substituted after 105 minutes of play.
This could be the last time we see 39-year-old Ronaldo wearing the Portugal jersey in a major international tournament.
The game was goalless after 90 minutes, despite a strong start to the second half for Portugal and a sharp save to deny French star Kylian Mbappe in the last moments of regular time.
France’s goalie Mike Maignan probably had more work to do than his Portuguese counterpart Diogo Costa prior to the shootout, not least a pair of big saves just a couple of minutes apart to deny Bruno Fernandez and then Vitinha around the hour mark.
“It wasn’t easy,” France goalkeeper Mike Maignan said after the win. “We didn’t always play that great, it was a complicated game. We played well defensively.”
“We got to the penalty shootout and didn’t waver. We can be proud of ourselves,” Maignan said.
France will face Spain in the first semifinal next Tuesday, July 9. Spain dashed hosts Germany’s hopes in Stuttgart in Friday’s earlier quarterfinal, winning 2-1 after extra time.
Material from the Associated Press contributed to this report.
