What they said: Portugal 1-1 Poland (Pen 5-3)

Sport360 staff 07:30 01/07/2016
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  • Portugal went through to the semi-finals

    Following a 1-1 score-line after extra-time, Portugal won the penalty shootout 5-3 against Poland in the quarter-finals of Euros 2016, on Thursday.

    Robert Lewandowski scored the opening goal in the second minute of the encounter to break his tournament duck and give Poland the lead. However, Renato Sanches drew Portugal level in the first half itself.

    Cristiano Ronaldo scored the first penalty in the shootouts while Jakub Błaszczykowski saw his effort saved by Rui Patricio.

    Ricardo Quaresma stepped up to score the penalty that sent Portugal through to the semi-finals.

    Sport360 rounds-up the best of the reaction from both sides.

    Renato Sanches, Portugal man of the match

    “It is a wonderful moment for the team, for me for scoring, we have been working very hard and we have been doing our best. People criticise us but we don’t care, because we are in the semis.”

    “We conceded very early but we believed until the end, we tried our best. The move for the goal turned out that way, but the team has been playing well, we are very confident so we will keep on trying to play our best.”

    “For the penalties, the coach asked who wanted to shoot. Cristiano was first and I said I would be second. The coach had faith in me, and I was confident enough to ask to shoot.”

    Fernando Santos, Portugal head coach

    “As we move further along, we get closer to our goal. We have the drive and ambition and we want to bring great joy to the Portuguese people. Penalties are a lottery but you have to show a lot of character. I knew that Poland were great at spot-kicks because they won on penalties in the last round but I told my players to stay calm because I knew they would score. ”

    “Poland started really well but I had a strategy with William Carvalho, Renato Sanches and Adrien Silva closing their players down. We let them take over the game for a bit and we weren’t able to control Milik, so I spoke to Renato Sanches to change things and asked Nani to drop a bit deeper.”

    “Thankfully we got the goal through Renato – but Poland are a very good team who know how to lull their opponents into a state of rest. But we did well, we played on the front foot and had the better chances, even if Poland had a few as well. I think we won fair and square against a very good team”

    Ricardo Quaresma, Portugal

    “It was enormous pressure. I had an entire country in my hands. I stayed positive I knew it was going to be a goal. I didn’t have time to think. Before going to the ball I was very confident. We’re on the right track and we’re going to continue.”

    Adam Nawalka, Poland head coach

    “It’s definitely a tough moment for us. The players put a lot of heart into this match and played bravely throughout this tournament. We haven’t lost a match at the tournament – we were knocked out on penalties. We have to look with optimism to the future and the European Qualifiers. There will be soon be time for detailed analysis but this defeat hurts.”

    “We’ve moved forward – this tournament has proven that. We were very good in both the group and knockout stages. We played some very good football. We’re always trying to improve and that will be the case going into the future.”

    “The team works as one. The team spirit was our driving force here. We need to think about what we’ve achieved here and continue to move forward. There’s no need to grieve for too long – it’s just a disappointment. I’m sure in time we’ll look at this with more optimism.”

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