Portugal narrowly defeated Slovenia in a penalty shootout in the Round of 16 of the European Championship, advancing to the quarterfinals. After the match, Portugal coach Roberto Martínez showered praise on goalkeeper Diogo Costa for his heroic performance.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Martínez first criticized the poor field conditions at the Deutsche Bank Park, saying: “I think we had many chances in the 90 minutes, we played well. But if you don’t score first, the match becomes difficult. The bad grass affected the team’s control of the ball, and we had a lot of possession, so it was very difficult to play.”
Talking about goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who saved three penalties to help the team advance, Martínez was effusive in his praise: “I think Portugal’s secret is Diogo Costa, he’s even the best-kept secret in European football, and he finally came to light today. Costa was on a whole different level today, his performance in one-on-ones and the penalty shootout was incredible, the whole team is proud of him!”
Portugal’s star player Cristiano Ronaldo still hasn’t opened his account in this European Championship, and even missed a penalty in extra time. On Ronaldo’s performance, Martínez said: “Ronaldo is a great and very personal player, he was decisive in the way we took the lead in the penalty shootout, he paved the way for us. It’s a victory for the dressing room. He’s our captain and shows that sometimes life is difficult, we can’t be discouraged even when things aren’t going our way.”
Martínez didn’t dwell too much on the quarterfinal opponent France, after a hard-fought qualification, he invited Portuguese fans to celebrate the victory first. Martínez said: “I’m not thinking about the quarterfinal against France, we want to celebrate this passionate victory with the fans. We’ve grown in this European Championship, and the moment we win the penalty shootout is the moment when individual willpower grows. The passion of the whole team helped us advance, and today we saw a team that is focused, confident and powerful. We deserve this win, and the fans can celebrate.”
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