Ricardo Quaresma celebrates after his winning penalty. (AP Photo)
It took a massive left hand from Rui Patricio, and five exquisite penalty kicks, but Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo are on to the semifinals of Euro 2016.
After a 1-1 draw over 120 draining minutes, the Portuguese beat a valiant Poland side 5-3 on penalties. Patricio saved Jakub Blaszczykowski’s spot kick, and Ricardo Quaresma’s subsequent conversion sent Portugal to its fourth Euro semifinal in the past five attempts.
Ronaldo had a largely forgettable game, but stepped up to the spot to smash home Portugal’s opening penalty. Patricio’s save on Poland’s fourth kick was the only difference in the shootout.
The game exploded into life in the second minute, when a cross-field ball skipped over the head of Portuguese right back Cedric and into the path of Polish winger Kamil Grosicki. Grosicki expertly picked out Robert Lewandowski at the penalty spot, and the striker in turn picked out the back of the net:
Both strikers’ runs were excellent. Arkadiusz Milik’s dart to the near post magnetized the attention of the Portuguese center backs, while Lewandowski shaped his run to creep into the box late. Grosicki’s cross was pinpoint.
Portugal’s response was measured. There was no panic, no unnecessary gambles. A narrow midfield four, composed of three Sporting Lisbon players and 18-year-old Renato Sanches, gradually took control of the game.
Poland continued to threaten on the break though. Milik broke into space only to pull his shot wide. Midway through the half, it was his combination play with Lewandowski that freed up Grosicki to drive into Portugal’s box, but the winger’s left-footed cross was scuffed and cleared.
Portugal’s intensifying pressure paid off in the 33rd minute, when Sanches struck. The teenager, who is off to Bayern Munich this summer for €35 million (plus up to €45 in bonuses), received a lay-off from Nani, and his left-footed strike deflected past Lukasz Fabianski at the keeper’s near post
The second half turned into a choppy, cagey affair. But it was punctuated by misery for Ronaldo.
The maverick attacker was on the end of several chances. First, he fired wide with his left foot at the near post after being sprung into the box by Nani. Then things worsened for one of the world’s best. His right foot hit nothing but air when it swung at Nani’s cross.
In the 86th minute, Ronaldo whiffed again, though this time the attempted skill was far more difficult. A directly vertical ball over the top of the Polish defense drifted agonizingly slowly into his path. Ronaldo twisted his body as the ball arrived, and tried to take it with his left foot on a half volley, but again swung and missed.
Ronaldo’s exasperation showed as he brought his hands through his slicked-back hair. With the Portuguese star unable to break the deadlock, the game headed to extra time.
The additional 30 minutes, however, did nothing to alter the course of Ronaldo’s night. He awkwardly stabbed at a majestic Eliseu cross with the outside of his left foot, only to watch the ball excrutiatingly evade him:
Both sides had played 120 minutes just five days earlier in the Round of 16, and the extra session reflected that. The fresh legs of Joao Moutinho and Quaresma for Portugal and Bartosz Kapustka for Poland couldn’t inject life into increasingly slow transitions.
Attacking progress was limited. Poland’s best venture forward resulted in a Lewandowski cross that slithered untouched across the Portuguese six-yard box.
The second 15-minute period petered out into penalties.
Lewandowski calmly equalized Ronaldo’s opener in the shootout. Sanches, Milik, Moutinho, Kamil Glik and Nani all were successful from the spot. Blaszczykowski was then denied.
Portugal moves on to play the winner of Friday’s Belgium-Wales quarterfinal on July 6 at 3 p.m. EST in Lyon.
