Led Portugal into the penalty shoot-out with his brilliant save against Benjamin Sesko, where he saved three attempts by the Slovenians: Diogo Costa, 24, goalkeeper for Porto and born in Switzerland
Image: Keystone
None of the three Slovenian shooters were able to beat Costa in the penalty shoot-out
Image: Keystone
Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo had a good laugh after the penalty drama
Image: Keystone
Pepe lost the ball to Benjamin Sesko on the halfway line shortly before the end of extra time and almost sealed Portugal's elimination
Image: Keystone
Ronaldo had previously failed to beat Jan Oblak with his penalty at the end of the first half of extra time
Image: Keystone
The superstar thanked his goalkeeper after the game
Image: Keystone
Led Portugal into the penalty shoot-out with his brilliant save against Benjamin Sesko, where he saved three attempts by the Slovenians: Diogo Costa, 24, goalkeeper for Porto and born in Switzerland
Image: Keystone
None of the three Slovenian shooters were able to beat Costa in the penalty shoot-out
Image: Keystone
Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo had a good laugh after the penalty drama
Image: Keystone
Pepe lost the ball to Benjamin Sesko on the halfway line shortly before the end of extra time and almost sealed Portugal's elimination
Image: Keystone
Ronaldo had previously failed to beat Jan Oblak with his penalty at the end of the first half of extra time
Image: Keystone
The superstar thanked his goalkeeper after the game
Image: Keystone
Aargau-born Diogo Costa leads Portugal into the quarter-finals with a "big save" in extra time and three saved penalties. In doing so, he wiped out Ronaldo and Pepe.
These pictures of Cristiano Ronaldo are once again going around the world. Confident before the penalty in extra time, dejected and in tears afterwards. Finally, jubilant after winning the penalty shoot-out. Even for the 39-year-old superstar, this European Championship night in Frankfurt, in which he even apologized to his own fans with a humble gesture, was something very special, a rollercoaster ride of emotions.
Martinez's basic confidence
"Of course I was incredibly sad and then overjoyed afterwards. That's football. You can't explain what happens. It's all or nothing, it happens all the time," said Ronaldo immediately after the 3-0 penalty shootout win over Slovenia that paved the way for the 2016 European champions to reach the quarter-finals. "There are moments that you can't explain, where the passion just runs through. That's when fate and luck take a turn," said Ronaldo, who announced after the game that his sixth European Championship "will undoubtedly be my last". The captain had missed the best chance in extra time from the spot and then converted Portugal's first attempt in the penalty shoot-out.
"I knew he would be the first to score and show us the way to victory," said coach Roberto Martinez after the game. The Spaniard underlined his confidence in Ronaldo, who was almost desperate to score several times during the game but failed to put any of his shots on target.
Pepe's thanks
One scene almost got lost in all the Ronaldo hype: The intimate embrace between Pepe (41) and Diogo Costa (24) at the end of the game. The team senior almost crushed his goalkeeper and didn't want to let him go. And with good reason: Costa made a strong save from Benjamin Sesko in the 115th minute. Pepe had previously fumbled the ball on the halfway line and almost sealed Portugal's exit.
"I think that was probably the best game of my life," said Costa. He made his mark in the football history books by saving three penalties. He is the first keeper to save three penalty shoot-out attempts at a European Championship. However, the match-winner did not see himself as a hero. In fact, in the press conference room, he initially even forgot about the trophy he had received as player of the match. Swiss modesty, you could say - after all, Costa was born in Rothrist in 1999 and spent the first seven years of his life in Switzerland before returning to his mother's homeland of Portugal.
The next hurdle awaits Costa, Pepe and Ronaldo in the quarter-finals in Hamburg on Friday (21:00). This one, France, is incomparably higher than any other in this tournament so far.
SDA
