Portugal beat Poland on penalty shootout to reach semifinals(updated)

Portugal beat Poland on penalty shootout to reach the 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 made 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.

"Penalties are a lottery but you have to show a lot of character," Santos said. "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."

He added, "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."

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.

Poland coach Adam Nawaka spoke highly of Lewandowski, saying, "Robert Lewandowski is still and always will be a huge player for this team. He's the captain, he motivates players on the pitch and off the pitch. His behaviour is something that I can only praise. It was a good tournament for the team but also for Robert Lewandowski.

"I'm very happy with the way he played. I want to thank all the players for the heart and ambition they showed in all our matches."

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.

"I'm confident about my work," Santos said. "We'll approach the semis in the same way we've done so far. Our feet are planted solidly on the ground. We'll be up against a very good team but we'll be prepared." Endit