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Portugal beat Poland on penalty shootout to reach semifinals

Xinhua, July 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

Portugal beat Poland on penalty shootout to reach semifinals of the European Championship after the two sides were deadlocked at 1-1 after the extra time here on Thursday.

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to step into the box and make no mistake by sending the keeper the wrong way. As Portugal went to a 4-3 lead, Poland midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski's shot was saved by Rui Patricio and Ricardo Quaresma fired home to seal the victory 5-3 for Fernando Santos' side.

Portugal have become the first team to reach a European Championship semifinals without winning a game in 90 minutes. They collected three draws from group stage and eliminated Slovakia with a last minute goal from Quaresma in the extra time in the round of 16.

This is the fifth time Portugal have reached the semifinals in their seven appearances.

But it was Poland that went ahead first through super star Robert Kewandowski's goal in the second minute. The Bayen Munich forward latched on to Kamil Grosicki's low cross and side-footed it home.

The Poland captain can finally sigh a breath of relief for his first goal of the tournament in four matches. It was his 35th in total for his country.

Portugal's 18-year-old midfielder Renato Sanches levelled the score in the 33rd minute. The teenager picked up a pass from Nani and fired a shot from just outside the box, which deflected off Grzegorz Krychowiak and beat keeper Lukasz Fabianski.

Sanches, who was signed by Bayen Munich in May on 35 million euros, became the youngest player to score in the knockout stages of any European Championship.

The match was interrupted in the extra time by an invader, who ran onto the pitch and tried to approach Cristiano Ronaldo. He was chased and eventually brought down by security staff.

Portugal will face the winner of another quarterfinal match between Belgium and Wales, which will played in Lille on Friday. Endit