The match Wednesday night between the defending champion Spain and Portugal was nothing but exciting, hair raising and a treat to watch.
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| Jubilation in the Spanish camp after their penalties finished win over Portugal that takes them to defend title in the Euro final on Sunday [Phot BBC] |
While many thought that Spain will simply prevail upon the Portugese were proved wrong as Portugal put up a stiff resistance and did not let the Spaniard score any goal in the two halves. The match finished 0-0 after extra time and took the decision to the penalties - something reminding the England vs Italy quarterfinal.
It was finally the Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas who struck the winning penalty to take his team to 4-2 win over the Portugese.
The defending champions have won nine knowckout matches at major tournaments without conceding a goal. But credit should be given to Portugal who stood to their feet and put up a formidable resistance against the World and Euro champions, which is something many were not expecing.
Portugal's Ronaldo did make concerted efforts to take his team to final, but it was lady luck that prevented him the honour.
As for Fabregas, it may be recalled that it was he, who had scored the winning penalty in the Euro 2008 quarter-final win over Italy. And last night he was the one who took his team to defend the title in the final of Euro 2012 being played on July 1 at Olympic Stadium, Kiev, against either Germany or Italy who clash Thursday evening for a final decider.
Read details: BBC Sport / Football
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