Portugal head coach Fernando Santos has heaped praise on promising young midfielder Renato Sanches after the 18-year-old scored the team’s equaliser and later netted a successful penalty to steer his side to the European football championship semi-finals, beating Poland here.
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Portugal will play victor of Wales vs Belgium in the semis of the European Championship.
Do you think Portugal and Ronaldo have what it takes to win Euro 2016?
That did not prevent relieved Portuguese celebrations.
Ronaldo got Portugal off to the ideal start by sending Fabianski the wrong way before Lewandowski responded in kind for Poland.
And at 31, he knows time is running out. Grosicki would take a fe dribbles and send the cross into the box where Robert Lewandowski struck the ball to put home his first goal of the tournament.
“As I’ve always said and I don’t hide, it is a dream to me winning a title with the national team”, he said. We’re on the right road.
Lewandowski had been the central figure of Poland’s advance to the quarter-finals, not because of the goals he has scored but those he has missed.
It has been some year for Sanches.
Italy now have 11 players in the book on one yellow each and on the verge of suspension while two more yellows were issued to Thiago Motta which means he’ll be watching his side’s tie with Germany from the stands.
Portugal should have hit the victor on 85 minutes, but after sneaking behind Pazan to meet a high ball from substitute Joao Moutinho, Ronaldo’s left foot failed to connect with what looked like a simple chance.
Earlier, a fan ran onto the pitch in the second period of extra time with the scores level at 1-1.
That left Ricardo Quaresma to smash in and seal Portugal’s progress.
Penalties appeared inevitable as tiredness took its inevitable toll.
“Our objective was for Portugal to win”.
“We face the semis the same way we have done so far. He’s an incredible player, when he gets older he’ll come into his own”.
“I don’t usually single out players but Pepe was fantastic today”, Santos said.
Portugal continued to move forward and with 12 minutes of the first half remaining it found an equalizer courtesy of the excellent Sanches.
“He played a great game, but he is still growing”.
“We have been working very hard and we have been doing our best”. There will be soon be time for detailed analysis but at the moment this defeat hurts.
And despite a night of personal frustration for Cristiano Ronaldo, he and his team-mates have now set up a clash with Wales or Belgium in Lyon on Wednesday.
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Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after winning the Euro 2016 quarterfinal soccer match between Poland and Portugal, at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, France, Thursday, June 30, 2016.
