Portugal 0-0 Slovenia (3-0 pen.): Talking points as Diogo Costa heroics help Portugal reach Euro quarterfinals

Portugal and Slovenia faced off in the Euro 2024 round of 16 at the Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt on Monday evening, and with neither side able to break the deadlock within 120 minutes, the contest was decided by a penalty shootout in which Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa became a hero for his country.

The teams

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez arranged his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation. With Costa in goal, Ruben Dias and Pepe paired up in the heart of defence, flanked by Nuno Mendes on the left and Joao Cancelo on the right. Vitinha partnered Joao Palhinha in the middle of the park, while the trio of Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and Rafael Leao played just behind Cristiano Ronaldo upfront.

Meanwhile, Slovenia boss Matjaz Kek went with a classic 4-4-2 shape. Jan Oblak was expectedly between the posts, with Jaka Bijol and Vanja Drkusic forming the centre-back partnership, and with Jure Balkovec and Zan Karnicnik on the defensive flanks. Jan Mlakar on the left and Petar Stojanovic on the right flanked Timi Elsnik and Adam Cerin, forming a flat midfield line across the width of the pitch. RB Leipzig star Benjamin Sesko was joined by Andraz Sporar of Panathinaikos in attack.

The game

It obviously didn’t come as a great surprise that Portugal dominated the ball for a very large part of the match. They took control of the proceedings straight away and attacked, but they faced an admirably disciplined Slovenia side. Kek’s men kept close to their opponents throughout and used a physical approach whenever other means wouldn’t serve, but what made their performance truly impressive in that aspect was the fact that they pressed high whenever they could, and moved their lines back to get behind the ball whenever that press was broken through, always keeping as many men as possible behind the ball.

Unable to break into the box with short passes, Portugal resorted to crossing frequently from the flanks, trying to make use of Ronaldo’s…

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Author : Veselin Trajkovic

Publish date : 2024-07-01 22:24:35

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