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Goalkeeper Diogo Costa saved all three penalties as Portugal triumphed 3-0 in a shootout against a resilient Slovenia side, who had held them to a 0-0 draw after Cristiano Ronaldo’s dramatic extra-time penalty miss in their Euro 2024 round-of-16 clash on Monday.
Portugal dominated the chances but also relied on Costa’s heroics, including a crucial one-on-one save from Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko, to secure a quarterfinal meeting with France in Hamburg on Friday.
Costa saved penalties from Josip Ilicic, Jure Balkovec, and Benjamin Verbic in the shootout, propelling Portugal into the next round despite a largely lackluster performance.
“This is probably the best game of my life,” Costa said. “I focused on doing what I had to do. I went with my gut feeling. Of course, we had analyzed the penalty takers, but players change how they shoot. I’m very happy and very excited to have helped the team.”
Ronaldo, in particular, will face scrutiny after missing several opportunities, including a penalty in extra time, which left him in tears and needing consolation from his teammates.
