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It took manager Fernando Santos the first four games of the European Championship to understand that laddie Renato Sanches needed to start a game despite his age. The new Bayern Munich signing is arguably the best young player of the tournament so far, he scored the equalizer that helped Portugal go all the way to extra time and get their semifinal ticket where they will clash against either Wales or Belgium. Poland played a brave match, but in the end, luck was on Portugal's side from the spot.
The first half began with an early Poland goal, striker Robert Lewandowski finally appeared at the right moment with a strike that gave his side the momentary lead. It was during the second minute of the game, it didn't take long. Grosicki had time and space down the left to pick out a cross for Lewandowski, he slotted the ball at first touch and gave Poland the lead. His celebration seemed to be extremely liberating. But they would not have many other chances, Portugal was the side dominating the offensive chances.
On the 33rd minute, Fernando Santos finally saw why youngster Renato Sanches needed to start the games for Portugal. The 18-year old took a pass from Nani and pinged the ball via a deflection into the corner from outside the box. He immediately ran towards the bench and fused in a massive group hug. But this goal equalized the game and was only good to hold the remains of the 90 minutes with a stalemate that took the match into extra time.
Having played extra time in their last matches during the round of 16, both sides seemed overly exhausted and weren't able to find the back of the net in the last 30 minutes of playing time. The penalty kicks were upon us, that cursed dramatic game of chance that everybody hates. It was now or never for both sides, Cristiano Ronaldo still had the fresh memory of scoring the winning penalty at the last Champions League final for Real Madrid. He stepped up o take the first one. At the end, the one who failed was Poland's Jakub Blaszczykowskiand left Ricardo Quaresma the big moment for Portugal to get into the semifinals where they will face either Wales or Belgium.
Photo credit: UEFA EURO 2016
