Portuguese Football in English
0 - Portugal prevented Croatia having a single shot on target in 90 minutes in their last outing.
1 - Portugal were the only third-place team of four to win their second round tie.
2 - These two nations have met twice at major tournaments in the past with their record split at one win each. Poland won the first meeting 1-0 at Mexico 86 before Portugal thrashed them 4-0 at the 2002 World Cup - Pauleta helped himself to a hat-trick that day ahead of a late Rui Costa strike.
Ricardo Quaresma’s 117th minute winner against Croatia brought new life to Portugal’s tournament ambitions. But for me, it was the fitting conclusion of my small part in covering the Seleção in France. Though I would have loved to stay until the end (whatever that end might be), I had such an unforgettable experience that my departure hardly seems worth grumbling about.
Nine matches in 14 days, the vibrant atmosphere of 6 stadiums, food and wine like you would not believe, passionate football culture, arresting drama…and more up-close-and-personal adventures with our beloved Seleção as they’ve fought for their right to be in the quarterfinals.
Jose Fonte, drafted into the squad in place of Ricardo Carvalho, and Eduardo relayed their thoughts exclusively to PortuGOAL.net.
PortuGOAL.net - What was it like to watch Quaresma score that winning goal, how did it feel?
Eduardo - "We felt everything! It was amazing, our hearts are still beating because of that. It was a hard game, we worked a lot, and in the end it was a big happiness with that goal to take us on to the next stage."
Portugal 1-0 Croatia
Portugal are into the quarter-finals of Euro 2016! In an incredibly tense match of few chances, a late breakaway goal by Ricardo Quaresma sent the Seleção players and supporters into ecstasy.
After an evenly contested 90 minutes, with Pepe for Portugal and Vida for Croatia coming close to scoring with headers, it was Croatia who had the better of extra time.
An intense spell of pressure from Ante Cacic's side saw one effort rebound off the post, but immediately Portugal broke brilliantly as a move involving Renato Sanches, Nani and Ronaldo ended with Quaresma heading in from point-blank range.
Portugal’s game against Hungary was a reminder of just how emotionally exhausting it is to be a supporter of the Seleção.
It also reinforced my belief that the team is struggling with its identity in the tournament. And, unless addressed, that could be Portugal’s undoing when they face Croatia.
So what does that actually mean?
Simply put, we witnessed two different Portugals in the group stage: the team that played Iceland and Austria, and the one that despairingly shot itself in the foot time and again against Hungary.
