France Eliminates Portugal to Reach EURO Semi-Finals

France emerged victorious over Portugal in a penalty shootout to secure their place in the semi-finals of the 2024 European Championship.

Eduardo Camavinga was brought back into the French lineup instead of Adrien Rabiot, and Randal Kolo Muani replaced Marcus Thuram. Meanwhile, Portugal stuck with the same lineup that won on penalties against Slovenia.

Les Bleus started off strong with attacking moves led by Antoine Griezmann, Aurelien Tchouameni, and captain Kylian Mbappe. Despite the efforts of Portugal, they relied on Cristiano Ronaldo to create opportunities without much success.

The game remained tight throughout, with limited scoring chances for both sides. Portugal tried to increase the intensity with Vitinha making a penetrating run, but Tchouameni managed to break up the play. As Portugal searched for a breakthrough, Tchouameni continued to make key defensive plays, stopping Rafael Leao and denying opportunities.

Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United came close to scoring after a quick shot, but was denied by Mike Maignan. France made the first substitution of the game as Griezmann replaced Ousmane Dembele.

Although Dembele’s pass set up Camavinga for a chance, the Real Madrid player missed the target.

Ronaldo attempted a close-range free kick to energize the crowd, but it was blocked by the wall, leading the game into extra time.

Portugal almost scored in extra time with Joao Felix’s header from Francisco Conceicao’s pass, but it hit the side-netting. There was no winner after three hours of play. The penalty shoot-out commenced and Ronaldo scored first for Portugal.

Unfortunately, Felix’s penalty was saved and Diogo Costa couldn’t repeat his heroics. Les Bleus scored all five penalties to move on to the semi-finals.