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Even the strongest people have their bad days. I was at rock bottom when the team needed me most. I was sad at first but now I’m happy. That’s what football is. Moments, inexplicable moments.
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When I think of my family, I feel emotional because they are unique moments that I cannot express in words. They are people I love, the fans who are always with us and especially with me, and I am very happy about that.
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I hadn’t missed a penalty kick all year. At this moment I missed it, but the most important thing is that the team won. I lost twice on penalties this season and won the third time. Sometimes football is fair and sometimes just, but we deserved to qualify.
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I will always give my best for this shirt, whether I fail or not, but you have to take responsibility. I have never been afraid to face things head on. Sometimes I do things right, sometimes I don’t, but giving up is something you will never hear from me.
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Hello and welcome to our daily Euro 2024 news blog. We’re down to the last ten: France and Portugal reached the quarter-final yesterday, and the last two places will be decided by today’s fixtures:
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Romania v Netherlands (5pm)
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Austria v Turkey (8pm)
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Yesterday’s games were relatively boring but highly dramatic. France beat Belgium with a late own-goal from Jan Vertonghen; and Portugal, as predicted, beat Slovenia comfortably – but only in a penalty competition after a fraught goalless draw. All three of Slovenia’s kicks were saved by Diogo Costa.
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Cristiano Ronaldo managed to both enhance and diminish his reputation. At times his desperation to score turned the game into a bit of a farce. But after having an extra-time penalty brilliantly saved by Jan Oblak, a moment that reduced Ronaldo to tears on the field, he showed extraordinary mental strength to score with an unsaveable penalty in the shootout.
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Here’s what Jonathan Wilson made of it all.
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Important Events
Randal Kolo Muani was instrumental in France’s winning goal against Belgium. Bernie Ronay talks to us about old friends, sports and politics.
Most obviously, the presence of a successful and highly visible player like Kolo Mouani on this France team marks a departure from the broader Rally National, the immigration-obsessed far-right party that won the largest single majority in last night’s parliamentary elections.
The RN is calling for tighter controls over citizenship. They want to restrict access to certain jobs for people they deem not French enough. Kolo Mouani’s parents were born in Kinshasa. He has dual nationality. He and his teammates embody the image of a happy, functioning person from deep within French society.
On this day in 2000… It was yet another disaster for Italy when the ball fell to Sylvain Wiltord just shy of winning Euro 2000.
On this day in 2016… Poor Simone Zaza launched a memorable penalty into orbit in Italy’s quarter-final defeat to Germany.
In other news, Copa America hosts USA Eliminated in the group stage After a highly controversial defeat to Uruguay, their winning goal looked offside to the naked eye but the VAR team ruled it was not.
It doesn’t get any tighter than this… pic.twitter.com/ZiciIvCFaF
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) July 2, 2024
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France 1-0 Belgium
Syd Lowe reports on another disappointing day of success for France.
Deschamps suggested it was all part of the plan and said he was proud of his team for not falling into the “trap” set by Belgium. He said it was worth celebrating to have got this far. After all, it wasn’t that easy and they might not have made it.
Ronaldo: “I was at rock bottom”
Here’s the great man’s reaction to last night’s soap opera:
Even the strongest people have bad days. I was at rock bottom when the team needed me the most. At first I was sad, but now I’m happy. That’s football. Moments, moments you can’t explain.
I get emotional when I think about my family because it is a special moment that I cannot put into words, they are the people I love and they are always with us and especially the fans who are with me and I am very happy for that.
This year I have never missed a penalty kick. At this moment I missed but the most important thing is that the team won. This season I lost two penalty kicks and won the third. Football is sometimes fair and sometimes just, but we deserved to qualify.
Whether I fail or not, I will always do my best for this shirt, but I have to take responsibility. I have never been afraid to face things head on. Sometimes I do the right thing, sometimes I don’t, but I never give up.
preamble
Hello and welcome to our Euro 2024 news blog. We are down to 10 players. France and Portugal advanced to the quarter-finals yesterday and the final two places will be decided in today’s matches.
Yesterday’s games were relatively boring, but highly dramatic. France beat Belgium thanks to a late own goal by Jan Vertonghen. Portugal, as expected, beat Slovenia handily, but only on penalties after a goalless draw. All three of Slovenia’s kicks were saved by Diogo Costa.
Cristiano Ronaldo could make or break his own reputation. His desperation to score could turn a match into a farce. But after he was reduced to tears on the pitch after a penalty in extra time was brilliantly saved by Jan Oblak, he showed incredible mental strength by converting the penalty that couldn’t be prevented in the shootout.
Jonathan Wilson observes:
