Roberto Martínez spoke at his pride of Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portugal captain displayed enormous mettle to take the first spot-kick in a penalty shootout about 15 minutes after crying having seen his extra-time effort from 12 yards saved by Jan Oblak. The Portugal manager said the 39-year-old offers a shining example of the resilience required at the elite level and insisted he was adamant Ronaldo would lead his side to victory to tee up a quarter-final against France.
Ronaldo scored Portugal’s first spot-kick after Diogo Costa saved Slovenia’s opening effort, from Josip Ilicic, and the Portugal goalkeeper went on to save all three of the opposition’s penalties. Afterwards Ronaldo said “sadness at the start is joy at the end” and praised Costa. “Portugal deserved it because we had more authority,” Ronaldo said. “Slovenia spent almost the entire game defending ... it’s very difficult and the whole team is to be congratulated, especially our goalkeeper.”
Ronaldo saw his first penalty saved by Oblak after Diogo Jota was tripped in the box by Vanja Drkusic. “First and foremost I think he is a constant example for us, the only player that has ever played in six European Championships,” Martínez said. “He is happy taking that responsibility and has got that belief. I thanked him [afterwards] for being the way he is, for caring for the group. I was certain that he would be the first penalty taker and show us the way to take victory. I think we’re all very proud of our captain. Our dressing room was all delighted. I think he gave us all a lesson. Life and football gives you difficult moments and the way he reacted shows why we are so proud in Portuguese football.”
Slovenia did not lose a match in normal time at the tournament but head home after this last-16 exit. Benjamin Sesko missed Slovenia’s best chance after seizing on a mistake by Portugal’s veteran defender Pepe. “We had the opportunity to score, but we were probably missing a bit of luck,” Oblak said. “In the end, Portugal has deservedly won. Congratulations to them.”
