Portugal 2-2 France

Portugal have made it through the round of last 16 of the European Championships after a Cristiano Ronaldo brace earned the Seleção a 2-2 draw and a third-placed finish in Group F.

Ronaldo placed Portugal ahead with a first-half spot-kick, meanwhile Hungary led Germany by a goal in the opposing game, but a couple of efforts from Karim Benzema either side of the half-time whistle had Fernando Santos' men facing elimination, momentarily, with France 2-1 up.

Portugal's skipper, Ronaldo, fired back with a second penalty in the 59th minute, however, to make it 2-2 before Germany took a draw from their game against Hungary in Munich, following the European and World Champions out of the group and into the next round of the tournament.

Ahead of the decisive night, the big changes for the Seleção came in midfield as Fernando Santos called on João Moutinho and Renato Sanches to take over from the thus far uninspired Bruno Fernandes and William Carvalho.

Early signs were promising for Portugal with Sanches picking out Ronaldo with a cross for the latter to attack with his head, five minutes in, but the first real chance fell to the World Cup holders ten minutes later, as Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappé combined prior to Rui Patrício’s save against the Paris Saint-Germain forward.

Portugal‘s moment under the lights came a little before the half-hour mark after Moutinho’s free-kick delivery was met with a sweeping punch by Hugo Lloris, cleaning Danilo Pereira in the air for a 30th-minute penalty.

 

 

No prizes for guessing just who placed himself on the end of the Seleção’s spot-kick, with Ronaldo converting from the 12-yard-mark and notching his third goal of the tournament. France wouldn’t end the half without a penalty of their own, however, after a coming together between Mbappé and Nélson Semedo allowed Benzema to make it 1-1.

The Real Madrid striker made himself known just two minutes into the second half, bending a run in behind the Portugal defence before beating Patrício and an initial offside call to place France ahead, with Hungary’s lead against Germany placing Ronaldo & co. in jeopardy.

More twists were in store en route to the hour mark and it was Ronaldo, again from the spot in the 59th minute, making it 2-2 with his 109th international goal after Jules Koundé’s handball inside the box.

France quickly reminded Portugal just how tender their position was in the group with a threading strike from range by Pogba, being tipped onto the post by Patrício, who'd also keep Antoine Griezmann out from the follow-up in the 68th minute.

With Germany back level against Hungary in Munich, Portugal and France sat on a result that would see both of them proceed with a 2-2 draw at full-time, pinning the Seleção up against Belgium in the next round, this Sunday. 

By Patrick Ribeiro

Portugal XI: Rui Patricio - Raphaël Guerreiro, Rúben Dias, Pepe, Nélson Semedo (Diogo Dalot, 79’) - Danilo Pereira (João Palhinha, 45’), João Moutinho (Rúben Neves, 72’) Renato Sanches (Sergio Oliveira, 86') - Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota, Bernardo Silva (Bruno Fernandes, 72’)

France XI: Hugo Lloris - Lucas Hernández (Lucas Digne, 45’) (Adrien Rabiot, 50’), Presnel Kimpembé, Raphael Varane, Jules Koundé - N’Golo Kanté, Paul Pogba - Kylian Mbappé, Antoine Griezmann (Moussa Sissoko, 86'), Corentin Tolisso (Kingsley Coman, 66’) - Karim Benzema

 

Goals:

[1-0] - Cristiano Ronaldo (p.) (30’)

[1-1] - Karim Benzema (p.) (45+2’)

[1-2] - Karim Benzema (47’)

[2-2] - Cristiano Ronaldo (p.) (59')

 

Related: Portugal 2-2 France player ratings

Related: Portugal 2-2 France match reaction

 

 

Comments (18)

This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site

This was a champions league game, and boy did it deliver.

Palhinha showed fantastic character. Not afraid of anyone. That is the spirit.

Dalot entered well in the game.

Renato is plain amazing.

Today they were a proper team.

Time to face...

This was a champions league game, and boy did it deliver.

Palhinha showed fantastic character. Not afraid of anyone. That is the spirit.

Dalot entered well in the game.

Renato is plain amazing.

Today they were a proper team.

Time to face Belgium.

Forca!

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Will
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Whoooooo. Man that was stressful. Thank you Fernando for the adjustments. Moutinho gets a lot of stick, but he had a great game. Renato needs to be a starter from now on. He was such a big improvement in that midfield. Bernardo and Semedo...

Whoooooo. Man that was stressful. Thank you Fernando for the adjustments. Moutinho gets a lot of stick, but he had a great game. Renato needs to be a starter from now on. He was such a big improvement in that midfield. Bernardo and Semedo redeemed themselves big time. Rapha did well also.

We deserved the 3 points though, as that Mbappe penalty was a joke. Either way, I felt we were the better team overall. Hoping that Ruben Dias can kick it up a level, as I feel he has actually been a weak link at the back so far, including that Benzema goal today.

Palhinha did well, think he has that aggressive bite we have been lacking and paired very well with Renato. For all the armchair managers who comment and rail on about "leave Ronaldo on the bench", he had another fantastic shift and who else would you want stepping up and taking those penalties?

Bruno F came on just to prove once again that he's useless on the Seleccao. very disappointed we haven't seen the breakout player of the season: Pedro Goncalves.

Very tough game against Belgium, but there are no easy games from here on out! FORCA!!!

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Chris
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Again. Patricio shows up in the big stage. I’ll say it again best goalkeeper we’ve ever had

Mike
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Man, what a battle! Loving every minute of it. Having 100% confidence in The GOAT nailing penalties, Sanches being a beast, even the BS penalty given to France. This is what it’s about. Belgium better be ready for nossa seleção.

Filipe
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This group was cursed man. There is no incentive to finish 1 or 2 or 3. If we had finished 2 the route to final would have been simple but I wouldn't have fancied playing England @wembley in round of 16. Finishing 1st would have meant Spain in...

This group was cursed man. There is no incentive to finish 1 or 2 or 3. If we had finished 2 the route to final would have been simple but I wouldn't have fancied playing England @wembley in round of 16. Finishing 1st would have meant Spain in all likelihood in the quarters.

My prediction is we beat Belgium. Their defense is horrible but will lose to Italy in thequarter on pens.

Will be rooting for Austria against Italy. Almost all Austrian players play in the top teams of bundesliga. But that will be asking too much from them. Even if they beat Italy we are not going past france in the Semis.

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MIGOS
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A more than a decent performance from the Seleção. Slightly disappointed at finishing third. Renato Sanches has been immense. He puts a lot of energy in the field and that's why he gets tired around 60 minutes and up. Lovely to see Joao Palhinha....

A more than a decent performance from the Seleção. Slightly disappointed at finishing third. Renato Sanches has been immense. He puts a lot of energy in the field and that's why he gets tired around 60 minutes and up. Lovely to see Joao Palhinha. Provided good long balls to his teammates, held to the ground like a concrete pillar, made a fantastic solo run too. Impressive from the Sporting DM. Semedo gets roasted by both fans and neutrals, but he is actually a decent player. That France penalty was a bit harsh on Portugal. Had they not scored, we could've finished the match with 2-0 victory somehow. I guess France had more shot on target, we looked somewhat exposed on the counter provided that both Dias and Pepe are somewhat slow. We are going to face Belgium in RO16, I've no doubt that we are going to beat them and knock them out of the Euros. Força Portugal.

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Nishanth Dsouza
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What an improvement from the Germany game! While we struggled to create much from open play, we largely nullified France's incredible attack from start to finish. France's penalty was beyond soft. Apart from Benzema's second and Pogba's shot from...

What an improvement from the Germany game! While we struggled to create much from open play, we largely nullified France's incredible attack from start to finish. France's penalty was beyond soft. Apart from Benzema's second and Pogba's shot from outside of the box (What a save by Patricio), they really didn't create much danger.

Renato Sanches and Joao Moutinho were key to Portugal's much improved stability and cohesion. Moutinho's experience proved key, and while he does not give you much going forward, I think he's earned himself a spot in the starting 11 against Belgium. Renato was an absolute beast - without a doubt our best player. His ability to bounce off of challenges and break lines in transition is such a joy to behold. He was also very solid off the ball. He must start over Bruno Fernandes from here on out.

Belgium are a quality side with plenty of firepower going forward, but they are not without their weaknesses. We can definitely beat them. My only concern is that they play with a back three. Let's hope Santos learned his lesson against Germany.

It doesn't get much easier with Italy and France likely lurking in the quarter and semi finals respectively. That being said, you gotta beat the best to be the best, so we shouldn't go into any game afraid.

Also a note on Ronaldo - two clutch penalties make him the top scorer of the competition and the joint top international goal scorer of all time. If we're going to go all the way this year, he's going to have to continue to be his ruthless self.

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jon/usa
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Today, we had French fries, but interesting enough, French fries are from Belgium XD
Today, we played French fries, on Sunday, we play the country where they are from XD

My starting 11 against Belgium features a 4-4-3 diamond formation:

GR:...

Today, we had French fries, but interesting enough, French fries are from Belgium XD
Today, we played French fries, on Sunday, we play the country where they are from XD

My starting 11 against Belgium features a 4-4-3 diamond formation:

GR: Patricio
LB: Guerreiro
CD: Pepe and Rúben Dias
RB: Semedo
DM: Danilo(Palhinha could be a good option as well)
CM: Sanches and Bruno(or Rúben Neves)
OM: Bernado(or João Félix)
Strikers: CR7 and Diogo Jota(André Silva or João Félix would be good options as well).
André Silva and Rúben Neves are criminally underused in this national team.

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Guilherme Relvas
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Sorry, bit Bruno shouldn't even be on the team sheet. He came on and proved immediately that he shouldn't play. Had a run in to the box, instead of shooting looks to pass back to Ronaldo.

Then he almost gave away a penalty in the other half....

Sorry, bit Bruno shouldn't even be on the team sheet. He came on and proved immediately that he shouldn't play. Had a run in to the box, instead of shooting looks to pass back to Ronaldo.

Then he almost gave away a penalty in the other half. I'd rather Pote or Sergio Oliveira be given a chance over Bruno F getting constant chances.

I love him at club level, but he's not showing up on the Seleccao.

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Chris
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In that case, I would put Rúben Neves instead of him. I also would switch Palhinha who was excelent for Danilo.

Guilherme Relvas
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Palhinha was AWESOME!!!! why is this guy on the bench???

Moutinho's experience came through. Couldn't shoot from range when he had the chance but I wasn't as afraid of this game as I was Germany.

I like Semedo again XD

I'm not afraid of any...

Palhinha was AWESOME!!!! why is this guy on the bench???

Moutinho's experience came through. Couldn't shoot from range when he had the chance but I wasn't as afraid of this game as I was Germany.

I like Semedo again XD

I'm not afraid of any team now. France were supposed to steamroll us and they are lucky Ronaldo missed that header or it would have been 3-2 Portugal.

Santos does it again, changing my mind about him. I just hate the heart attacks from the yo-yoing!

On to Belgium, and as Jon/USA said, they play a back three so I do hope Santos learned from the Germany debacle.

FORCA!!!!!

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Jerrold Hewson
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Control debruyne and lukaku and you nullify belgium....the back 3 of belgium you can get as that is the weak point and they love possession but that means when they lose possession there is a tonne of space to play through and i believe that...

Control debruyne and lukaku and you nullify belgium....the back 3 of belgium you can get as that is the weak point and they love possession but that means when they lose possession there is a tonne of space to play through and i believe that Santos has a remedy for wingbacks....England was the either pathway to the final as we now have 3 massive games to reach final....belgium, italy, france...

As far as today..excellent but we wont have ot so easy with the lack of pressing in the nwxt games.

I think a fit nuno mendes will be important and I can see him coming in for raphael....i bwlieve he would have played today if fit. I am not sure why pote and guedes were out...i am perplexed why pote doesnt get any minutes...


Renato basically made every portuguese with eyeballs correct today! Big performance.

Semedo did well...unlucky as that penalty was the worst and softest call of tournament....probably why fernandes was left off hook....they were making up for their mistake.

Palhinha adds some steel and determination..could be useful against italians...for belgium and i would have more technical players like today with one pivot.

Lastly, i still feel like we havent quite clicked yet and gone into top gear...i see 2 minds..the 2016 defending style and the proactive progressive with the talent we know have. SANTOS needs to decide amd get it right...today was a start.

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Joe
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