France and Portugal are through to the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 being played in Germany, but there wins certainly did not come easily and could have gone the other way.

Last night in Düsseldorf, an 85th minute Jan Vertonghen own goal saw France beating Belgium 1-0 and advancing to the last eight with a 1-0 win.

The French coach, Didier Deschamps, said he was happy with his team’s performance overall, but going forward there will be focus on creating more chances.

“We made a lot of progress and our opponents were obviously cautious, even if they're an attacking team on paper.

“We did everything we could to create chances, and we created more than them, but we played the waiting game and didn't fall into their trap.

“I liked that, but obviously you can't win through possession alone. I'd like us to create more chances.”

Over in Frankfurt, Portugal beat Slovenia 3-0 on penalties after their round of 16 match ended in a goalless stalemate after extra time.

The Portuguese coach, Roberto Martínez, lauded the influence of goalkeeper, Diogo Cotsta, and lauded the shot-stopper for his performance in goal after saving three shots in the penalty shootout.

“The secret of Portugal is Diogo Costa, he's the most hidden secret in European football,” Martínez.

“Today he appeared on a different level, he was incredible in the one-on-one situation, and then he had the focus and quality to make three consecutive saves in the shoot-out, we have to be very proud of him.”

The last two spots in the quarter-finals are up from grabs on Tuesday and at 18:00 Romania will face the Netherlands in Munich and at 21:00 Austria will take on Turkey in Leipzig.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport