Six and out. Cristiano Ronaldo’s sixth and final European Championships got here to an finish as Portugal paid for an impotence that stemmed from affording their captain privileged standing. They went out on penalties, Joao Felix rolling his spot kick towards the foot of the put up as everybody else scored, however after a second successive stalemate, after 364 minutes with out scoring.
If it’s an equally damning statistic that no France participant has scored for them in open play this event, 5 did in a shootout. Diogo Costa had saved a trio of Slovenian spot kicks in the final 16 however Ousmane Dembele, Youssouf Fofana, Jules Kounde and Bradley Barcola all discovered the web, permitting Theo Hernandez to arrange a superpower semi-final towards Spain.
The ends can justify the means and for Didier Deschamps, dullness has introduced a fourth semi-final in the final 5 main tournaments. In the method, France conquered a demon or two. Eliminated from Euro 2020 on penalties, dropping the 2022 World Cup last in a shootout, France averted an undesirable hat-trick. They additionally gained a modicum of revenge for his or her Euro 2016 last defeat to Portugal.
But some of the eagerly-anticipated video games of the event was additionally among the many dullest. Two groups of such expertise confirmed treasured little ambition. France have been stymied by Deschamps’ warning, Portugal by their more and more bizarre refusal to play with out Ronaldo, the person they refuse to drop or substitute. With the gamers in every squad, it might have been a traditional, however the spotlight of the primary hour as an alternative was referee Michael Oliver working so quick his yellow card fell out of his pocket. The second hour was higher however scarcely epic; certainly Dembele, who didn’t come on till the 67th minute, was named man of the match.
It was one other illustration it was not the billed shootout between Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe. Real Madrid’s Galacticos previous and future are but to attain in open play this event. Ronaldo skewed an injury-time shot approach over, following fast footwork by Francisco Conceicao, however neither got here near discovering the web over 120 minutes. Mbappe didn’t full them; Ronaldo did, scoring Portugal’s first spot kick.
And it lengthy felt apparent they’d be required. It had a few of the essence of event soccer: the drawn-out nature of knockout ties, the sense one mistake could possibly be deadly, the commensurate selection of warning. There appeared a shared sense of a grind to glory, that success includes struggling. There appeared one thing predictable in a goalless draw. There was an old style really feel with gamers camped behind the ball, with treasured little urgent. Deschamps picked a trio of defensive midfielders. Somewhere, Jose Mourinho was most likely nodding approvingly.
It was, as anticipated, a struggle of attrition however there’s a battle-hardened high quality to this France facet. The defining performances got here from the defensively minded: Pepe, Portugal’s oldest man of struggle, celebrating after recovering to dispossess the far youthful Marcus Thuram; N’Golo Kante, consuming up floor as if he have been a decade youthful; Eduardo Camavinga, one other of France’s trio of 90 minutes; Mike Maignan, with two wonderful blocks in as many minutes. The attackers supplied too little: Mbappe supplied glimpses of tempo and Rafael Leao a minimum of tormented Kounde, albeit with out a lot finish product, in half due to a scarcity of motion in the center. But with Antoine Griezmann, a minimum of restored to his most popular position as a No 10, ineffective, France had no creativity. With 10 males and a static deity, Portugal didn’t actually have a centre-forward.
For France, the consequence gives validation. Portugal, nevertheless, can exit questioning what might have been in the event that they have been extra bold. Conceicao supplied some verve in his cameo. Bruno Fernandes was oddly withdrawn. Given Roberto Martinez’s attacking ethos, they scarcely felt like a Martinez workforce. It was as if Fernando Santos was nonetheless in cost.
Not that France have been way more adventurous. The lone shot heading in the right direction in the primary half got here from Hernandez, which Costa parried; there have been solely 4 off beam, none from the participant with essentially the most targets in the European Championships and the one who might find yourself with essentially the most in the World Cup.
After a sterile hour, there got here belated indicators of life. Previously muted, Portugal all of the sudden created two wonderful possibilities. The preliminary incision got here from Joao Cancelo, with a defence-splitting move for Fernandes to drive a shot that Maignan parried. Then Leao picked out Vitinha, whose first-time shot was repelled by the goalkeeper. Tellingly, neither likelihood concerned Ronaldo.
France responded with two of their very own. When Randal Kolo Muani escaped behind the Portugal defence, Ruben Dias did splendidly to deflect his shot huge. An unmarked Camavinga dragged a shot huge. Yet that represented essentially the most eventual spell. Nuno Mendes might have received it in the 120th minute however penalties felt destined. And for Portugal, Felix’s miss meant their event ended with a vastly gifted group feeling like underwhelming underachievers.