Portugal booked a spot in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 after beating Croatia 1-0 in a tightly contested affair.
The Croatians settled into the match quicker than their Portuguese counterpart, but it turned out to be a cagey 1st 45 minutes. Both teams were limited to half chances in a game riddled with petty fouls as the likes of Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo failed to inspire their team.
The 2nd half was not any different as the best chance in normal time fell to Domagoj Vida, who flashed his header wide from Darijo Srna’s free-kick. Portugal finally broke the deadlock 3 minutes from the end of extra-time when Ricardo Quaresma heads in Ronaldo’s saved shot after a quick counter. The goal was cruel from Croatia’s point-of-view but it won’t matter for Fernando Santos’ side as they celebrate their advancement in the competition which might be deemed as lucky by most.
Here are the 3 best players of the night in an otherwise uneventful match:
Ivan Rakitic
In a game where midfield maestro Modric had a rare instance of being ‘quiet’, Rakitic was the only effective player for the Croatians in their offensive play. His dead ball deliveries were mostly good and he would have been disappointed with his teammates’ inability to convert either one of them into a goal.
Darijo Srna
Everyone was expecting a showdown between Srna and Ronaldo, but it didn’t materialise as the Croatian skipper had a fairly comfortable game. He was reliable when the situation called for it and he could have gotten an assist when his free-kick was headed wide by Vida. Croatia’s exit from the tournament might mean the end of Srna’s international career, but his head should be held high for the sort of performance he had put in.
Renato Sanches
The young Bayern Munich midfielder was brought on after the first interval to spice up Portugal’s attacking play, and Sanches did just that with his surging runs from the middle of the park. His efforts paid off in the 2nd half of extra time when he was named man-of-the-match after Portugal finally got the breakthrough from a counter attack led by him.
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