Trent Alexander-Arnold converted the winning spot kick in a penalty shootout to send England into the semi-finals of Euro 2024 after Manuel Akanji whose father is a Nigerian, missed for Switzerland.

Alexander-Arnold fired into the top left corner to send pre-tournament favourites England through, winning the shootout 5-3 after the match was level at 1-1 after extra time.

Breel Embolo had put Switzerland ahead after 75 minutes when he poked home from close range after John Stones failed to clear, and Bukayo Saka levelled for England five minutes later with a brilliant strike in off the far post.

England will meet either Netherlands or Turkey, who play later on Saturday.

-Reuters

Portugal manager Roberto Martinez said there was no blame to cast after Joao Felix missed the penalty that resulted in their exit from the European Championship and likely brought the curtain down on Cristiano Ronaldo’s international career.

Felix fired his penalty against the post — the only miss of the shootout — and then buried his face in his hands, with France winning 5-3 in Friday’s quarter-final after a goalless stalemate at the end of extra time.

“I can tell you that the whole squad was supporting each other and only players who never shoot a penalty never miss,” Martinez said. “Joao has great control of the inside game, he worked hard to be there and this penalty is bad luck.”

The miss from the 24-year-old Atletico Madrid forward gave France the advantage and Theo Hernandez fired past goalkeeper Diogo Costa — who had been superb in stopping three Slovenia penalties in the last 16 — to send France to the semi-finals.

The loss likely marked the end of Ronaldo’s 21-year international career, as he has said his record sixth Euros tournament would be his last.

The 39-year-old converted Portugal’s first kick in the shootout but was also responsible for squandering perhaps their best chance of the night.

After the final whistle, centre-back Pepe collapsed sobbing into Ronaldo’s arms, the curtain surely also coming down on the 41-year-old defender’s international career.

“Pepe is everything he showed in the tournament, not just during the matches, but the way he works through training sessions, the way he supports his colleagues, his commitment,” Martinez said.

“And his tears are tears of frustration. Because when you play against the better opponents, there’s no tears. The tears are there because it’s hard to accept that tonight with our performance, we will drop by the wayside

“But other than that, Pepe is a role model in Portuguese football and what he did tonight and during the tournament will stay with us, with the next generations.”

Ronaldo has gone nine games without a goal for Portugal and missed a golden opportunity to score during extra time when Francisco Conceicao broke behind the French defence and cut back a pass to Ronaldo just outside the six-yard box.

However, Ronaldo launched the ball wildly over the crossbar — far from a fairytale ending, if it is indeed the end, of an international career that has brought 212 caps and 130 goals.

Martinez said there were plenty of positives from the game, including the fact Portugal had 63% possession.

“The individual talent of this team is there for all of us to see,” he said. “They showed great unity and knew how to suffer, always with the desire to win.

“We lost but we lost with pride, always giving everything in every minute, in true Portuguese style. We won’t stop here. In the future, we will give everything.”

-Reuters

BY MARK GLEESON, REUTERS.

Defeat for Portugal at the European Championship on Friday likely brought down the curtain on the extraordinary international career of Cristiano Ronaldo.

While Portugal’s totemic forward has made no pronouncements on his future with the national team, the 39-year-old struggled to revive former glories at the tournament in Germany and departed Euro 2024 without scoring apart from in shootouts.

Portugal lost 5-3 to France on penalties in their quarter-final after a goalless stalemate in which Ronaldo missed a glaring chance in extra time but converted one of the kicks in the shootout.

“It’s too soon and raw after the match to talk about that and there have been no individual decisions made,” coach Roberto Martinez said when asked if it had been Ronaldo’s last game in a Portugal jersey.

There will forever be debates about where he sits among the greatest footballers — in or behind the exulted company of three-times World Cup winner Pele or the extraordinary talent of Diego Maradona or long-time rival Lionel Messi.

All of them won the World Cup, which Ronaldo has not, but in terms of statistics in national team colours the 39-year-old is out there on his own.

Friday’s loss to France at the Volksparkstadion was Ronaldo’s 212th cap, significantly ahead of Messi who won his 185th for Argentina against Ecuador in the Copa America on Thursday.

Ronaldo’s 130 goals for his country is also way out on its own at the head of most scored in international football, with Messi recently moving second on the list with 108.

“Cristiano is in the national team of Portugal because he deserves to be,” Martinez had said earlier in the tournament.

In terms of longevity few can match Ronaldo, who debuted for Portugal in 2003.

He was 18 years-old when he came on at halftime to replace Luis Figo in a friendly against Kazakhstan in front of roughly 8,000 in Chaves. Days earlier he had signed for Manchester United, convincing manager Alex Ferguson of his potential after tormenting the team’s defence in a pre-season friendly.

By the next year he was a regular for Portugal as they hosted Euro 2004, upset in the final by Greece.

He is the first to play at six European Championships and his 14 goals in 30 matches is also a Euros record. He won the trophy in 2016 when Portugal beat hosts France in the final.

RONALDO’S TEARS

Ironically, in Portugal’s Euros triumph Ronaldo went off early in the decider in Paris in tears with a knee injury.

If you add in his goals in Euro qualifying, Ronaldo has scored 55 times in the competition, with Harry Kane next on 29.

At the World Cup, Ronaldo has played 22 times, scoring eight goals, in five tournaments, while Messi has played four times more and has the appearance record.

In the 21 years Ronaldo has played for Portugal, they have not missed out on qualifying for the World Cup, with a semi-final place in 2006 their best return. That year, Ronaldo netted the decisive penalty to beat England in the quarter-finals.

It has been an extraordinary career, highlighted by five Ballon d’Or awards, and it is not over yet … certainly not at club level. Ronaldo top-scored with 35 goals in the Saudi league last season and has another year’s contract at Al Nassr.