Belgium lost to France due to an own goal, Portugal beat Slovenia on penalties. How the Euro 2024 playoff matches went

The national teams of Portugal and France have become quarterfinalists of the 2024 European Championship. This was reported by a correspondent of Lenta.ru. Now the teams will meet each other in the quarterfinals, the match will take place on July 5.

France beat Belgium thanks to own goal

Both teams played rather cautiously, but the French had the advantage. They more often brought their attacks to shots on goal, but they lacked precision. In the first half, the spectators did not see any goals, and the fate of the match was decided by the only goal scored at the end. French forward Randal Kolo Muani, who came on as a substitute, shot at the goal, and the ball ricocheted off the leg of Belgian Jan Vertonghen and flew into the net.

The entire match for the French national team was played by its captain Kylian Mbappe. The forward changed his protective mask for another, more comfortable model, but this did not help him to score a goal or make an assist. The forward shot at the goal five times, more than any other player in the match, but never hit the target.

Portugal failed to cope with Slovenia in regular time

The Slovenian team advanced from the group stage of the current tournament, having played three draws. In the fourth match, they also failed to win in regular time. The Portuguese played more actively, had more chances to score, but with rare exceptions, Slovenia acted very reliably in defense.

The Portuguese had their best chance to score in the first overtime, when a penalty was awarded for a foul by Diogo Jote. Cristiano Ronaldo approached the ball, but Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak parried the shot with a beautiful jump. The Portuguese captain could not hold back his tears: the entire team and the entire coaching staff consoled the 39-year-old veteran.

However, in the penalty shootout, Ronaldo went first, sent the ball into the other corner and scored. The Slovenians failed all three attempts: the Portuguese goalkeeper Diogo Costa made three crazy saves. Ronaldo’s partners were more accurate, the series ended with a final score of 3:0 in favor of Portugal. Now they will have to fight for a place in the semi-finals of the Euro with France. The match will take place on July 5.

UEFA opens disciplinary case against Jude Bellingham

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) will conduct an investigation into the obscene gesture made by a player in the Euro 1/8 final match against Slovakia. The footballer grabbed his groin and, presumably, addressed the Slovak footballers. Bellingham himself noted that the gesture was a joke that he addressed to close friends in the stands.

Bellingham is the most expensive player of the England national team in the current tournament. The Transfermarkt portal estimates his value at 180 million euros. The attacking midfielder equalized the score in the match against Slovakia in the last seconds of added time with an overhead kick and transferred the game to overtime. There, the English scored again and advanced to the quarter-finals.