How Portugal Overcame Poland, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Struggles At Euro 2016

Portugal has redefined the concept of knockout soccer at the 2016 UEFA European Championship.

Portugal advanced to Euro 2016 semifinals Thursday at Poland’s expense. The teams played to a 1-1 draw over the span of 120 minutes of open play, and Portugal topped Poland 5-3 in the ensuing penalty-kick shootout to reach the last four.

While Poland is going home and actual terms, Portugal returns home in a metaphorical sense.

Who knows? Portugal might win this one.

Should Portugal triumph, steely resolve will demand most of the credit for its success. The Iberian nation hasn’t approached its best level in France but somehow has survived through five of a maximum seven games at this tournament, without a normal victory to its name.

Poland’s fate was inversely puzzling.

The eye-popping statistics embodies everything Euro 2016, from the farcical, to the practical and everything in between.

Poland jumped to one early lead amid its blockbuster start to the game. Star striker Robert Lewandowski scored after just 100 seconds and entered the record books as a result.

But Poland failed to overrun Portugal and allowed its opponent to gradually take hold of the game. Precociously talented midfielder Renato Sanches, 18, scored his first international goal in the 37th minute, rewarding Portugal’s ascendancy with a fitting prize. Much of the soccer world tuned in to see Cristiano Ronaldo shine. Sanches introduced himself to many with the man of the match performance.

The first half contained all of the game’s best moments. The second period was tense but also tepid, as quality and risk-taking abandoned the players in favor of graft and safety. The two extra time periods followed suit.

The penalty-kick shootout was nervy as one would expect. The teams’ first three shooters all converted, as did Nani in Portugal’s fourth attempt. The shootout pivoted on Poland’s Jakub Blaszczykowski’s effort, as Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio made a stunning save. Portugal’s Ricardo Quaresma returned to prominence after years in the wilderness by scoring the winning penalty kick and putting his country back into the semifinals.

Here’s why Poland-Portugal unfolded this way:

Ronaldo who? Renato’s the name
Cristiano Ronaldo is one goal away from matching Michel Platini’s record for career goals in European Championships but he’s struggling at Euro 2016. No amount of his talking or shooting can disguise this fact.

Nevertheless, Portugal is as reliant on its captain as ever. Dating back to Euro 2012, Ronaldo scored or assisted seven of Portugal’s last eight goals coming into the Poland game.

But Ronaldo missed four clear chances against Poland, and his conversion rate is nearing the tragi-comic.

Things might have been different if the referee awarded Ronaldo a penalty kick after Michal Pazdan barged over him in the first half. But no penalty came Ronaldo’s way until open play had ended (he scored).

Luckily, Sanches proved himself ready for the big time, and something tells us his first start in a Euro almost certainly won’t be his last.

We shouldn’t speak of Ronaldo in the past tense just yet, nor do we need to cast Sanches into future stardom. Both were present and accounted for but not in the way you would expect in a game of this magnitude.

Ronaldo vs. Levandowski (dueling can’t hit a barn door w/a banjos)

It bears repeating. Ronaldo had a bad game against Poland, hitting the target with just two of his seven shots on goal.

Lewandowski scored quickly, ending a 644 minute goal drought. But the Polish marksman failed to score on his other three shots and made little meaningful impact on the game (other than cancelling out Ronaldo’s first spot-kick with a successful one of his own).

Portugal’s extra-time warriors
Maybe Portugal plans to play 120 minutes when knockout soccer begins. How else can we explain its penchant for extra time and penalty kicks?

https://twitter.com/STATS_Football/status/748625544200212481

Credit Portugal for showing the poise necessary to navigate the most stress-inducing part of tournament play.

Poland also has been in this situation, but its most recent appearance — in the Round of 16 against Switzerland — proved to be a historical hindrance.

Review our Poland-Portugal live blog >>

Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images