Ricardo Quaresma
Ricardo Quaresma scored in extra time as Portugal defeated Croatia 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinals at Euro 2016.
The
game was a cagey affair in which neither team put a shot on target in
regulation time and Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo did not line up
a single attempt until setting up the game-winning goal in the 117th
minute.
Moments after Croatia hit the post at the other end of the
pitch, Portugal struck on the counter-attack, and keeper Danijel
Subasic could only parry Ronaldo's shot into Quaresma's path.
Croatia
controlled the ball in the early stages but rarely pushed forward, and
although Portugal gained a foothold after 15 minutes, they were equally
tentative.
The best chance of the first half came in the 25th
minute after Ronaldo was fouled on the wing. Raphael Guerreiro sent in a
well-placed cross from the free kick, but Pepe's powerful header sailed
over the bar.
Eight minutes later, Portugal defender Jose Fonte
was whistled for a foul -- and may have escaped with a stamp -- on Ivan
Rakitic. Croatia then worked the ball for a corner, from which Mario
Mandzukic sent a header well wide of the net.
Croatia were
livelier after half-time, though, and nearly took the lead on 52 minutes
when Marcelo Brozovic barely missed getting a head to Ivan Strinic's
dangerous cross, and Portugal put it out for a corner.
The defence
was caught napping, however, and as Croatia quickly took the corner,
Brozovic's shot from 12 yards sailed off-target.
Renato Sanches
came on for Andre Gomes early in the second half and sparked some life
into Portgual, lashing a 20-yard shot wide after a well-worked one-two
with Joao Mario.
After the hour-mark, Croatia had another
opportunity from a free kick, but Darijo Srna headed wide and seemed to
take the chance away from Mandzukic, who was well-positioned behind him.
Portugal
had a penalty shout in the 64th minute when Nani got in behind the
Croatia defence and was kicked from behind by Strinic, but the ball had
already gone out of play off the striker's shoulder.
Srna
forced Pepe to make an acrobatic clearance in stoppage time, but the
game headed to extra time without either team challenging the opposing
goalkeeper.
As the extra period began, Ivan Perisic tried to lob Portugal keeper Rui Patricio with a header, but it was too high.
Kalinic
then found himself in alone on goal after dispossessing Fonte, but his
shot skewed closer to the corner flag than the goal.
Portugal's
half-chances mostly came from corners -- to no avail -- with Ronaldo
particularly ineffective as he did not touch the ball at all in the
first 15 minutes of extra time.
In the second period, Croatia
defender Domagoj Vida missed an open net with a clean header after
Patricio had tripped following a corner.
Perisic then brought the
ball to the byline and a sliding Kalinic came within inches of tapping
the ball in. Croatia then put another effort into the box and Perisic's
off-balance header went off the bottom of the post.
That's when
Portugal broke on the counter-attack, Sanches carrying the ball forward
before laying it off to Nani near the corner of the box. The striker
took a touch and curled the ball across the box to an open Ronaldo,
whose shot was saved.
But the ball bounced up nicely for Quaresma,
who could not miss with a header on the goal line, and Portugal took
the lead against the run of play, breaking Croatian hearts.
Vida
had Croatia's final attempt, but it went inches wide in the 122nd
minute, and Portugal advanced to face Poland in the quarterfinals on
Thursday in Marseille.
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