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Davis Cup Sunday: Spain tops Group B to finish off the Group Stage week in Valencia following a deciding doubles win with several shortcomings from Australia

by Sports Benches

Oh so close when Alexei Popyrin gave the Aussies a lifeline following his win in the 2nd singles match v Pedro Martinez & if Jordan Thompson won that first game, then we’ve would’ve been on top. But hats off to Spain though on bringing home the deciding doubles win (2-1 series win) that puts them on top of Group B. At least we know that the Aussies are already safe into November Finals week where the Top 8 will battle it out for one trophy also within Spain in Malaga since the Aussies finished 2nd with wins already warranted v France (2-1 series win thanks to our doubles duo of Matt Ebden & Max Purcell) and Czech Republic (3-0 whitewash win).

Gotta say we could’ve won that opening match with Jordan Thompson – who came back off a terrific US Open run lately up until the 4th round – being so close at one stage to try close it out v Pablo Carreno Busta. It’s a shame that his poor serves let him slip away off the back of a really good start before Busta won that opening singles match instead. The final score was 6-2, 2-6 and 6-7 via 7-3 tiebreaker. 

Then as said, Popyrin kept Australia’s hopes alive in the series going into the deciding doubles match for Ebden & Purcell to settle where he continued to be at his best this time v Martinez. His standards continued to soar also coming into the group stage week off his recent career best US Open run (4th Round) with the straight sets win 6-4 & 6-4.

Now we hoped Ebden & Purcell can get the job done v Marcel Granollers & Bautista Agut (again) since we’re always so strong in our doubles performances following a brilliant 2024. Yes, they too didn’t do bad where Ebden & Purcell were so close but not quite enough today unfortunately to hold back the Spanish duo to try bow out on top of Group B. The final score was 7-5, 4-6 and 4-6.

Even though it was a difficult finish to the series v Spain, the Aussies still had a brilliant week in Valencia nonetheless.

Now we have to find who will be our Quarter-Final opponent in the next few days before the road to reclaiming that prestigious trophy begins in late November. Hoping Alex De Minaur will be back fully fit for the right time alongside Popyrin with back up from Thompson as well as our strong doubles combo strikeforce of Ebden, Purcell & John Peers.

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Paris 2024 Aquatics Review: A string of silver for our Aussie Women’s Water Polo Team & Moesha Johnson in the women’s 10km open water swim as well as Maddison Keeney for bronze in the women’s 3m springboard dive

by Sports Benches

The Paris 2024 swimming program may be over last weekend where our Aussie Dolphins Swim Team still had great success despite falling short to Team USA when it comes to this sport’s medal tally alone as our big battles ain’t over anytime soon, that way we can go on & win back this pool like it was several times before. 

However, there’s more to water/aquatics when it comes to the 2nd week Olympics program, having also achieved good success — even though we were so close to winning gold in Marathon Swimming as well as Water Polo and Diving programs. 

Now that would be a big boost when it comes to future World Aquatics Championships with the next edition going to Singapore in about 11 months time from now.

First of all, shoutout to Moesha Johnson who finished silver behind Sharon Van Rouwendaal from the Netherlands in the women’s 10km open water swimming event while Chelsea Gubeca finished 14th. Gotta say Moesha has improved a lot this year when it comes to her marathon swimming career, she was fourth individually earlier this year at the World Champs in Doha including the team gold there.

She too alerted all of Australia off the back of her specialist swimming discipline success which is the long-form events including some long-distance swimming in the pool as we need more of these marathon swimmers like her. Sure she can go one better if she can for LA28 & let’s hope our future marathon swimmers for those looking to take up soon enough can take her lead for gold going into the home Summer Olympics edition for Brisbane 2032.

We also didn’t forget Nicholas Sloman & Kyle Lee with the men’s 10km open water swimming event. Yes, trying to reaching gold may not be our biggest strength unlike some of our pool swimmers at this stage. But seeing both of them within the Top 15 ain’t bad though with Sloman just outside the Top 10 in 11th while Lee came home in 13th. Again, we need and can do more to inspire more young kids to take up marathon swimming for the best chance of success both in here and worldwide.

If one silver medal wasn’t enough, why not we look at our Women’s Stingers Water Polo team? They too fell so short last night by only two goals (9-11) v Spain in the gold medal final off the back of their unreal campaign in the lead up to this big dance undefeated at Paris La Defense Arena. Now they had an equal start with Spain from the beginning while the Stingers made a late charge to hold back Spain but their inconsistent play midway through the match fell into Spain’s favour and their opponents were the one that got themselves home with the Olympics gold.

Unlucky but this is the team we should be proud of having won gold before back in Sydney 2000. We are absolutely confident that our women’s Stingers team can go one better towards setting up regular world-class success as the one of the top water polo powerhouse nations in the world. Keep an eye on them on a regular basis for their support where they also got Tilly Kearns (who plays centre forward) as one of the players there and she’s related to her dad who is a former Wallaby in none other than Phil Kearns.

And in the Diving, shoutout to Maddison Keeney with her silver medal success in the women’s 3m springboard. She had an excellent performance despite not being able to reach gold that won her multiple World Championships before, having split the two Chinese divers in between gold and bronze. But again, we got another amazing diver on our hands & fingers crossed she will go back to at least 1 if not 2 more games to bow out on a high with a breakthrough Olympics gold – keep an eye on her too including next year’s Worlds.

So that’s all you need to know as we enjoyed watching our aquatics athletes take centre stage in Paris that showcased their best abilities for those watching at home and also in-person with credit to our parents’ sheer hard work of making their sons and daughters dreams made come true. Can’t wait to see Australia hopefully take extra rewards of gold medals in world aquatics beyond pool swimming going into next year’s Worlds in Singapore & the next Summer Olympics in LA come 2028. 

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Olympics Soccer News: Spain def. France to end their long-awaited Olympics gold medal chase since Barcelona 1992 after a stunning finish in added extra time by 5-3

by Sports Benches

Heartbreak from the host nation France with the silver medal following their 3-1 loss to Spain at Parc Des Princes, especially when they haven’t played in Paris at all until the one and only time now. 

So a bit like the Blackcaps really in cricket when they’ve been unbeaten in New Zealand all along until they’ve lost to the Aussies with the World Cup Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground back in 2015.

For France, gotta say the starting goal keeper should’ve done any better to save these shots at his own end – which was disappointing really when Spain got away with 2-3 easy goals. They’ve did the best though possible off the back of their good start including their late charge to unseat Spain for the gold medal honours. But again, their extra time performance was as the same as the keeper’s first half display unfortunately. Not even having less ball on their own defensive end allowed Spain to extend their lead during another half hour’s play in Paris by 5-3.

As said, you gotta feel sorry for the French attackers who did their best to give their home crowd a best possible ending for gold. But Spain holds the cards though as the end of the day for gold since Barcelona 1992, having lost to Brazil last time round four years ago at Tokyo 2020 (in 2021 due to COVID) 2-0 via extra time.

Speaking of Spain, they’ve been unstoppable from 1-0 down to 3-1 going into half-time thanks to a double Fermin Lopez strike. Yes, they may have been held up at the first attempt following a high stakes 3-3 all after 100 minutes of two halves. But again, they are the team who ran the French defenses wild thanks to their expansive attacking play that rattled the opposition keeper all day long when substitute Sergio Camello scored back-to-back late extra time goals — and that is how you finish off a gold medal performance in Olympics soccer for Spain.

Now there’s two more days to go before Paris 2024 is done and dusted with the Closing Ceremony at Stade De France.

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Part 1: Tuesday’s Men’s Field Hockey semi-finals day review at Paris 2024: Netherlands too good v Spain & Germany def. India after an excellent last 15 mins to the match, 3-2

by Sports Benches

It may have been an unfortunate end for both of our Men’s Kookaburras and Wonen’s Hockeyroos teams earlier this week following their respective exits from the Quarter-Finals against the Netherlands & China, but the show must go on at Stade Yves-Du-Manoir as we look back at these excellent last two days of Field Hockey when it comes to the both men’s and women’s semi-finals. First of all, Netherlands were absolutely too good against Spain on what has been a mighty 4-0 win that kickstarted Tuesday evening our time/afternoon in Paris. They scored a goal during each quarter where the first 15 x mins one was off a penalty stroke and another three came from dominant & expansive open play – which simply sensational to watch. Looks like a gold medal opportunity is finally coming when they previously won it back in Sydney 2000 on top of Atlanta 1996.

Tough luck from Spain who had a few chances of their own but just couldn’t grasp at a level where the flying Netherlands team has set the standard that was unchallenged & unmatched all game. Out of 19 Olympic Field Hockey appearances, Spain still haven’t yet collected a gold medal triumph after 3 x silver attempts back in 1980, 1996 and 2008. They can still walk away with a medal though but it will be for bronze and the last time Spain has done that for 3rd was way back in Rome 1960.

Then that 2nd semi match between Germany and India was a thrilling close match where one gets to still be in the running whereas the losing side may continue to play once more but this time for the bronze medal match. India got away with the early lead thanks to the winning penalties following their unreal Quarter-Final escape the other day v Team GB via Penalty Shootouts. But at the end of the day though, Germany had the better attacking ground that puts them one step closer now to tomorrow morning’s gold medal match while India threw these chances away, especially in the 4th and final quarter having unable to get out of trouble any further past the Germans following a painful semi-final blow for the gold medal Final by 3-2.

Hard luck by India even without Amit Rhodas over his stick hit on a Team GB player that saw him forced to sit out over a red card during the Quarter-Final match the other day, but they still weren’t bad though nonetheless all game until the last quarter as a few errors here and there saw Germany reap the rewards by taking greater control of the pitch going forward for the win. Speaking of Germany, it’s been a while since their London 2012 win against the exact same next opponents, as they are now through to Thursday afternoon’s/Friday AM final v Netherlands. It’s going to be the best of the best clash as to whether or not if Germany still holds being the best Olympic Hockey side or else it’s the Netherlands turn who has been winning lots of games elsewhere but not very often though when it comes to winning silverware at the highest levels.

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Olympics Tennis News: Novak Djokovic finally achieves his long-awaited Olympic Games dream following a close straight sets win over Carlos Alcaraz

by Sports Benches

That was another close match between two of the best Tennis players we’ve had seen really this time in an Olympics level by both veteran Novak Djokovic from Serbia and rising star Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz for the gold medal match at Court Phillipe Chatrier. After two really close sets that all both ended via tiebreaks, the veteran stood out strong in none other than Djokovic who finally found the missing puzzle with the gold medal win.

The final score was 7-6 with 7-3 tiebreak and also 7-6 with 7-2 tiebreak that lasted nearly three hours in 2 hours & 50 mins.

Not bad from Alcaraz for a start when he got the ball rolling but then he began to struggle when it comes to the tiebreak under pressure and that’s where he was outrun by Djokovic on both occasions unfortunately here and there. Now that Djokovic had his moments and he’s age 37 right now, let’s hope he can get an Olympic gold at least but that will have to come in 2028 at Los Angeles. Plus, great to see him play at the Roland Garros over this past week alongside his idol and also veteran grand slam champion Rafael Nadal for a couple in the doubles too who played his last few matches for good.

At last but not least, Djokovic has conquered it all having won 3 x Roland Garros titles that now includes an Olympics gold medal at the same Roland Garros venue. Not only he got away against Rafa earlier this week during the 2nd round but he also just defeated another Spaniard involving Rafa’s heir in Alcaraz overnight for gold. Okay, the first couple of games during the first set wasn’t easy. However, he never gave up as always that cemented his place as a veteran grand slam star, and yet he’s done it including a long 2nd set where Djokovic stood his ground well through the very end to end his 16-year long wait – well done!!

Looks like it’s well and truly going to be the last time we’ve see these legends on-court with Rafa now retired while Novak may still have a bit longer to go before he too will eventually a call a day at some point but mostly like before LA 2028 by then. For now, bring on the 4th and final grand slam season of 2024 with the US Open tournament in New York beginning at the end of August to early September. 

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Olympics Tennis News: Carlos Alcaraz too good for Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi with Matt Ebden & John Peers also on their way to an Olympic Gold Final in the doubles

by Sports Benches

What a way to finish off Friday here with two brilliant semi-final Tennis matches we’ve just saw tonight at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris coming from Stade Roland Garros where Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz was too good for Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets (6-1, 6-1) & so does our Aussie doubles pair of Matt Ebden & John Peers (7-5, 6-2) also in straight sets during the 2nd men’s doubles semi against USA’s Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz. Alcaraz will await his next opponent for Sunday’s gold medal match between the winner of the other men’s semi-final in either Serbian legend Novak Djokovic or Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti (another Wimby rematch from last month) later on while Ebden/Peers isn’t done with Team USA just yet going into tomorrow night where they will take on Austin Kraijcek & Rajeev Ram for the Men’s Doubles gold medal match.

It wasn’t Auger-Aliassime’s day today having came here off a great run up until this point including two good wins against Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round and Norway’s Casper Ruud in the Quarter-Finals the other day. However, going up against a seasoned grand slam champ is never easy to say unfortunately and that proved too good to be true other than some early head starts v Alcaraz. His time isn’t done yet with the Bronze Medal match tomorrow to hopefully give Canada another medal against whoever loses the other semi final in either Djokovic or Musetti. Looking at Alcaraz now, he’s simply unstoppable – that’s all! He too never looked out of place having dominated all two sets en route to an Olympics gold medal Final. Looks like it’s going to be another round of Alcaraz v Djokovic if Djokovic can win v Musetti again later on as the young Spaniard would love to win another major honour at the same Court Phillipe Chatrier all in the one year this time for gold.

And how good was Ebden and Peers on what has been an unreal performance to hold off Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz in straight sets. That first stage was really close where they both found a way to get out unscathed and although they had a few bumps along the way with the 1-0 lead but at least both Ebden and Peers took their time well to wrap all things up for the semi-final win. Hard luck to Paul and Fritz by the way who weren’t far off the pace of Ebden and Peers throughout the opening set but struggled mightily to stay in the game during the set, even though a couple of late saves wasn’t enough to warrant them a big turnaround from there. Now Ebden and Peers are one stop closer now to emulating “The Woodies” pair of Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde from Atlanta 96′ if they can get this done tomorrow & Australia is surely right behind them.

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Olympics Field Hockey News: Spain settled the score with host nation France 3-3 all after a tight scoring tussle by both teams in Pool A

by Sports Benches

It was a brilliant contest really where the host nation France and Spain did so well to try and walk away with the win with a few goals each in the bag but both teams had to settle for a draw though after 60 minutes of play 3-3 all that kickstarted Tuesday’s Field Hockey Olympics activities at Stade Yves-Du-Manoir (Pitch 1). France had the early lead with back-to-back goals for a start during the first 15 mins before Spain got one back during the 2nd 15 with a one goal trail ahead of half-time.

From then on, Spain continued their fight by equalising France at the first attempt while the hosts yet found another goal via penalty corner to try and steer clear going into the final 15. Although Spain found another goal once more to level the scoreboard as the clock began to tick down, but again, a draw would be enough that denied the home team the win they badly wanted off the back of their brilliant start to the match. Spain will be back v South Africa later tomorrow/Thursday AM at 3.45 am AEST while France will take a day off before they take on Great Britain on Thursday night at 8.45pm AEST.

As said, love seeing both teams had a really good tussle with the ball on stick both defensively as well on the counter-attack through the break. For Spain, gotta say that less ball earlier on gave the French a really good opportunity to get the ball rolling that found a way to strike through the keeper but good to see them turn around though for the most part that could’ve been theirs to take home with the win had France not scored these two first 15 min goals. Gotta credit to their strong defensive structure as well as the way they attack that held the French their own nerves with more time via the attacking third.

Meanwhile, France pressed well on the counter from the beginning thanks to their dominant 1st half possession and they never gave up by not giving Spain a free pass – such as these winning penalties and intercepts through the middle to try and give the home crowd a really good chance to close the match for the win. Now their defense was okay but it’s just a shame that some ill-discipline/lost penalties have slipped away really where Spain had a good sniff at them that led to goals against the host nation where France should’ve done better to shut them down before they had to settle for a draw.

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Tennis news today: Carlos Alcaraz reigns supreme once again with his 2nd straight Gentlemen’s singles Wimbledon crown in straight sets from last night v Novak Djokovic

by Sports Benches

It has been another main event rematch of the best youngster Carlos Alcaraz v the best veteran Novak Djokovic at Centre Court for the 2024 Wimbledon Gentleman’s Singles Final after an incredible two weeks through the early rounds and then the 2nd week Finals until were left with the last two remaining in SW19. The winner of the Final belongs to Alcaraz, who was simply too good all along including that 3rd set arm wrestle through the very end of that stage, as he successfully defended his crown here for the second straight year in straight sets: 6-2, 6-2 & 7-6 via the 7-4 tiebreak. Now it will be a week-long break before the next Summer Olympics will arrive on what is going to be another two weeks beginning next Friday 26th July.

It’s a bummer from Djokovic whose grand slam run this year didn’t see him hoist any of the three majors so far & he’s only got the US Open left to hopefully finish things off on a high come early September, especially being the age of 37. He gave his all with class at times including the 3rd set to try and keep himself in the game but he was way off the pace for the most part unfortunately with Alcaraz being the better player throughout the Final. He might had some great battles both past, present and the future of these Spaniards – we’ll see how long he’s got left before he eventually calls it a day alongside Rafael Nadal.

And Alcaraz is the man of the hour and the day right now at SW19’s Centre Court following another brilliant performance during a Final on the grass courts last night. As said, he was too good through the first two sets over a veteran champion who is around the mid to late 30s. Now that’s without saying that Alcaraz had the easiest time ever when Djokovic did his best to keep him in check, particularly during the 3rd set. But at the end of the day as most elite champions need to do, Alcaraz demonstrated his toughness well through the very end of that stage to close out in three straight sets. What’s next for him now is to win the Olympic Tennis gold in Paris in a few weeks time, as well as winning the US Open again later this year & then he can go and finally be the next Australian Open champ come January 2025 at Melbourne Park – more to come soon enough.

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Euro 2024: 22-year-old sensation Nico Williams leads Spain to victory over England in the final

by Admin

In a dramatic showdown at the Euro 2024 final, Spain secured an exclamation point win over England, thanks to the brilliance of underrated manager Luis De La Fuente.

The match kicked off as expected, with a visibly aggressive Spanish team dominating possession and actively seeking for their first scoring opportunities. In contrast, England relied on swift counterattacks, particularly through Bukayo Saka on the right wing. Saka, playing more as a right wing-back in Gareth Southgate’s cautious 3-4-2-1 system, took on more defensive responsibilities, supporting Kyle Walker in containing of Basque sprinter Nico Williams.

Under 25 minutes, Spain’s suffocating 85% possession set the tempo of the first half of the game, as they seemed to effortlessly control the midfield and win every rebound. It seemed like every second ball landed at Spanish feet.

As the match progressed to the 30-minute mark, it became apparent that the Spanish midfield was outclassing the English midfield, effectively neutralising the creative talents of Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden. Fabián Ruiz and Rodri seemed to have absolutely boxed in the English duo.

Despite the Spanish dominant possession, Gareth Southgate’s defensive system held strong in the first half, with Jordan Pickford making it through without soiling his kit.

In the first half, both teams struggled to create scoring opportunities, and it appeared that only one team was making an effort to actually play attacking football. Still, the match took a turn when news of Rodri’s injury reached the Spanish side.

The substitution of Rodri for Martín Zubimendi seemed to ignite a little momentum for the Three Lions. But, just two minutes into the second half, Nico Williams, the 22-year-old boy, from the Athletic Bilbao Academy, broke the deadlock with a score.

The score came as a big blow to the English team, who were nearly caught off guard again on the feet of Dani Olmo on the very next play.

Things were not coming together for England. Shades of Wembley 2021 against Italy. It seemed like another of one of those nights for the English team. Until the substitute, Cole Palmer, out of nowhere unleashed a spectacular long-range shot in the 73rd minute, leveling the score in Berlin.

Unfortunately for the white side of the Olympiastadion, English ecstasy did not last too long. England were facing another extra 30 minutes, until a superb late strike from Mikel Oyarzabal in the 86th minute, coming from the bench.

The deciding goal by Oyarzabal dealt a final blow to the English team, England seemed not to have the strength to mount a comeback. Once again, Spain is crowned champions of Europe, sending English football home.

During the tournament, amidst discussions about the impressive Spanish team, one name often goes unnoticed – Luis De La Fuente.

Ridiculed by the Spanish media when announced manager, the talent and contributions of De La Fuente seem to be overshadowed by this exceptional Spanish generation of players. Nonetheless, it is important to appreciate the exceptional work carried out by the 63-year-old coach during this competition.

While Luis De La Fuente may not have the charisma of Vincente Del Bosque or the tactical brilliance of Luis Enrique, his success in securing the European title is beginning to earn him a place among the great Spanish coaches.

Through adept management of the squad, extensive tactical knowledge, and the bold decision to field one of the youngest teams in the tournament, De La Fuente is starting to make a name for himself among the pantheon of Spanish coaching legends.

Throughout their terrific tournament run, the Spanish team left behind Italy in the group stage, Germany in the quarterfinals, France in the semi-finals, and finally, England in the grand final.

Spain now secures their position as the top champions of the European tournament with an impressive total of four titles.

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UEFA Euro 2024: Spain to meet France in the 1st semi-final having seen Spain eliminate the hosts Germany while France escaped Portgual’s endless attempts via penalties

by Sports Benches

What a day it has been this morning through the first of the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship Quarter-Finals that went through the very end across Germany where the hosts were beaten by Spain 2-1 in Stuggart even though they’ve kept the game going for a bit longer while France defeated Portugal via penalties in Hamburg when no score was settled for both sides through 90 mins of normal time and 30 mins of extra time. Now that the first semi-final match is set to go on Wednesday morning between Spain v France, all eyes on 2021 runner-up England if they can get the job done tomorrow morning v Switzerland with a hint of a formation change by going with a back three defensive strategy before we will find out soon enough whether or not if Turkey’s fairy tale run will continue going into the semis at the same time v the Netherlands,

Heartbreak from the hosts who did the best they can to keep the match going having responded well to Spain’s 2nd half lead with a few attempts to try and get the job done towards goal. Yes, great to see Bayer Lekekusen forward Florian Wirtz who gave his country a lifeline off a clean strike through the middle – having his side held back Spain’s early celebration a bit longer ahead of extra time. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t the match they wanted to finish off when the keeper should’ve saved that header which turned out to be Spain’s 2nd goal as it could’ve gone onto penalties to try & boot Spain out of the tournament. Then another series of hit and misses in the last few minutes despite being given three minutes more than the added 2nd extra time period have clearly summed up their disappointment from the last eight on home soil as the next time Germany will seek their next European crown will be 2028 in the UK/Ireland – 32 years from their one & only title back in 1996.

Meanwhile, Spain did so well to put themselves ahead straight after half-time through a brilliant straight line strike off Dani Olmo when the first half didn’t go their way when it comes to the possession. They had a few scares at times every time the Germans tried to get the job done like that poor goal kick before Wirtz at least levelled the scoreboard that led to another 30 minutes of play at extra time. But they’re glad to wrap up the game with a huge sigh of relief thanks to a brilliant header by Mikel Merino when the opposition keeper hesitated to save the ball before it led to the Spaniards regaining the lead for their 2nd goal just in time for his side’s own keeper to stop Germany from slipping away towards the very final full-time whistle at the 126th minute. Now they will be in the semis yet again in the hope of advancing into the Final since 2012 when they did well last time out v Italy in Ukraine & if Spain can go all the way, then this could be their record 4th title in the Euros history.

Looking at the other Quarter-Final match, France were relieved to get away with Portgual’s endless shooting attempts with some excellent saves alongside the solid defensive work they’ve put in that didn’t make it into goal all night long whereas Portugal would be very frustrated on what has been a painful end to the tournament following a scoreless first 120 mins that could’ve been their night like scoring 2-3 goals to wrap up early instead of walking away empty handed. Yes, France might not have found the opportunities they desired up front off the back of a strong Portugal ball. But they did however win this game via penalties when a mis-timed Joao Felix penalty shootout attempt went their way through the woodwork before Theo Hernandez scored the 5th and final winning penalty goal that sent France into the semis now v Spain. It looks like France has made Portugal pay when they broke their hearts back in the 2016 Final on home soil 1-0 at Stade De France as Portugal’s poor hit and misses ultimately gave them the exit boot while France is chasing their 3rd Euros crown in 25 years now since 2000.

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