Match: 0-0, 5-3 on penalties
The Spaniards, who had beaten the Germans in extra time (2-1) in Stuttgart, had their sights set on Hamburg from the final whistle to find out, at the end of a bitter duel between the French and the Portuguese, their rivals in the semi-finals of the Euro. The first half was as balanced as expected, and for a long time it was like a game of chess. The rest was dominated by the hesitation of the two teams in their intentions and, apart from a long-range shot from Theo Hernández (20), the only shot on target in the first 45 minutes, nothing was saved.
But on his return from the dressing room, the game kicked off. After a strong French moment, Roberto Martinez's team accelerated and, had it not been for the magnificent Mike Maignan in front of Bruno Fernandes (61), Vitinha and Ronaldo (63), the Lusitanians would have taken off. In the process, Randal Kolo Muani (66) in an almost remake of his face-to-face with Emiliano Martinez in the World Cup final, Eduardo Camavinga (70) with a runaway cross, Ousmane Dembele with a soft flirtatious shot and Diogo Costa's box (73) who also thought of opening the scoring, were always in vain.
2000
Since their title in 2000, France have been eliminated in the last 4 times they have played extra time in a major tournament (World Cup + Euros).
The tension had eased a bit and there was only a last-ditch raid from Marcus Thuram, without support from his teammates, and a half-hearted strike from Kylian Mbappé (90+4), which sent a shiver through the Volksparkstadion (90+1) before the inevitable extra time. In these extra 30 minutes, Didier Deschamps' decision to take off his captain at half-time, replacing him with Bradley Barcola, was the highlight for a long time. Joao Felix, with a short header (108), Barcola, after a beautiful slalom (114), but especially Nuno Mendes, guilty of a shot that was too shattering (120), tried to change the fate of this encounter, doomed to failure. Penalties.
In this match, the Blues reassured themselves and only Joao Felix missed the target (5-3 mark), finding the post, which made Mike Maignan and his teammates drunk with happiness. Now they are waiting for an epic semi-final against Spain, who are deprived of the suspended Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand, on July 9.
2006, 2021, 2022… The Blues are starting to make a bad habit of missing penalties. On the night in Hamburg, Mike Maignan and his partners finally managed to break the black line by negotiating the exercise in a brilliant way. Ousmane Dembele, Youssouf Fofana, Jules Kounde, Bradley Barcola and then Theo Hernandez did not flinch, leaving the only failure of the session to the Portuguese Joao Felix.
Didier Deschamps' players, who have been poor in attacking efficiency during the Euros, are guaranteed at least the basics of qualifying for the semi-finals against Spain, without scoring a single goal in the match.
