Euro 2024, France reach semis after penalty shootout win: Stats
France ousted Portugal from the 2024 UEFA European Championship. France beat the 2016 champions via penalties after the match ended 0-0 with 120 minutes of play. Theo Hernandez scored the winning penalty in a 5-3 affair. Joao Felix missed his penalty for Portugal. In what was an exciting second half, both sides missed pivotal chances before extra-time happened. France held their nerves to win.
An uneventful first half on offer
Both sides failed to create much in the opening 45 minutes. For Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo had no touches in the France box and failed to attempt a shot. France had just one shot on target from three attempts. Portugal managed two attempts with no shots on target. Kylian Mbappe was kept under the wraps by Portugal in what was an uneventful first half.
What happened in the second half?
Portugal had the first meaningful chance in the contest. Bruno Fernandes was denied by France keeper Mike Maignan. Minutes later, it was Maignan again, who prevented both Vitinha and Rafael Leao's shots on goal. France forward Randal Kolo Muani's shot aimed toward the far post missed the goal by a whisker. Edouard Camavinga missed the chance of the match thereafter. He scuffed his shot.
Portugal miss chances in extra-time
Both sides failed to find the winner in extra-time. Ronaldo, Francisco Conceicao and Felix had decent chances for Portugal but missed the target. For France, their woes of not scoring a goal from open play in the ongoing tournament continued.
What happened in the penalty shootout?
Ousmane Dembele scored the first penalty for France. Ronaldo made it 1-1 with a clean strike. Youssouf Fofana scored his penalty and so did Bernardo Silva. Barcelona defender Jules Kounde made it 3-2 before Felix crashed the post. Hernandez handed France victory.
France are set to play in their 6th semi-final
France are set to play in their 6th semi-final at European Championship - 2nd-highest after Germany (8). France have reached the semis in four of their last five major tournaments (World Cup/Euros). Portugal have suffered back-to-back quarter-final exits at major tournaments. France and Portugal met in their 5th clash at the European Championship. Portugal were unbeaten in the last two such meetings.
France will face Spain
France will play Spain in the semis. Notably, Spain edged past Germany in the quarter-finals. Mikel Merino scored a 119th-minute winner in a 2-1 win. Spain are the tournament's highest scorers. France have struggled to get going.
Unwanted record for Ronaldo
As per Squawka, Ronaldo made 23 attempts at Euro 2024. It's the most shots taken at a single European Championship tournament without scoring since 1980. Only Deco (24 in 2004) is ahead. For the first time, Ronaldo didn't score in a major tournament.
Here we present the match stats
Portugal had 1.58 expected goals compared to 1.06 of France. Portugal had 15 attempts with four shots on target. France managed five shots on target from 20 attempts. Portugal edged past France in terms of touches in the opposition box (29-25). Portugal had 60% ball possession and a 93% pass accuracy.
Key stats for France
As per Opta, France's players have not scored a goal from open play in their last six matches (1 from the penalty spot, 2 from an opponent's own goal). France's Kounde nor Bradley Barcola, who both scored in the shootout, had ever taken a penalty, including in shootouts, in their professional careers before tonight.
