Portugal’s dreams of Euro2024 glory were shattered last night in a penalty shootout with France in the quarter finals.
Flags flown proudly by so many households have had to be taken quietly down today as everyone digests what happened. As commentators have stressed, Portugal will be leaving Germany with a lot to think about.
The team didn’t play badly yesterday, it simply did not play well enough: opportunities were missed, as well as that penalty that hit the post. All in all, it was a very sad way for Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe to bid their goodbyes to the national team (both incredible players now getting to the age where they are unlikely to represent their country in the game again).
The really moot point about the team’s performance is the number of games in which they failed to score at all in the statutory 90 minutes. It is something that has never happened before in the final stages of major championships.
