Euro 2016 Quarterfinal #1

Poland 1, Portugal 1
(Portugal wins penalty shootout, 5-3)
Goals: Robert Lewandowski (POL) 2’, Renato Sanches (POR) 33’

General Thoughts:

• That was a great finish by Robert Lewandowski to score Poland’s first goal. Many MANY times we see a forward blast one of those passes either into the 12th row or 15 feet wide.  But as good as the goal was – how great was the low cross from Kamil Grosicki?  Lewandowski almost couldn’t help but score that one, and the Portuguese defense had no chance of stopping it.
• Portugal had every reason to be upset with the referee in the 30th minute. That was a blatant foul in the area by Pazdan.  He made no attempt at the ball – he just laid Cristiano Ronaldo out with his shoulder as a pass was on its way to him.  Portugal should have been awarded a penalty kick.
• Renato Sanches’ shot in the 33rd minute was unstoppable. The goalie dove correctly and on time, but he couldn’t reach it.  What a goal![1]
• Sanches’ goal made him the third-youngest player to score at a Euro.[2]
• The second half had very little realistic scoring chances, but Portugal had many more than Poland did. This was largely because Poland didn’t put much pressure on Portugal.
• Cristiano Ronaldo badly blew a gift-wrapped scoring opportunity for about the 138th time this tournament, this time in the 86th minute. João Moutinho’s looping pass into the box put Ronaldo one-on-one with the goalie near the penalty spot.  It could not have been any better…and Ronaldo whiffed the kick.  Is it just me, or has the most common camera shot in Portugal games during this tournament been a reaction of Cristiano Ronaldo after he has just badly blown yet another scoring chance?  And the second-most common shot been of him berating either a teammate or referee?  It’s obvious that Ronaldo’s past his prime, but – dare I say it – he might be washed up.
• Poland seems to have a bad habit of letting up after taking an early lead.
• That idiot who ran onto the field in the 109th minute messed up a possible Polish counterattack.
• Extra time was B-O-R-I-N-G. It looked like both teams were trying to get to penalty kicks.
• I thought that Quaresma wasn’t allowed to stop and then start his shot again, but I guess I was mistaken. Łukasz Fabiański – the Polish keeper – got a fingertip to his shot, but it wasn’t enough to stop it.
• Poland’s penalty kick loss kept an interesting streak going. In Euro tournaments, no team has ever won two consecutive games on penalty kicks.  There are several who have been in two consecutive shootouts, but they’ve always lost the second one.
• The fact that Portugal is in the semifinals is a travesty. They are most definitely not one of the four best teams in this tournament.  In fact, I wouldn’t even put them in the top eight.  Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good – which is certainly the case for Portugal.[3]

June 30, 2016, 9:25 pm MST

[1] That was only the second goal conceded by Poland during this tournament.

[2] The two who were younger?  Switzerland’s Johan Vonlanthen and England’s Wayne Rooney, both at Euro 2004 in Portugal.

[3] They have yet to win a match in regulation time.