It has become increasingly possible to imagine Portugal with their name on the Euro 2016 trophy. After three draws at the group phase and a grubby last 16 win over Croatia, following extra-time, they entered this quarter-final having not played particularly well but having played well enough.
A fine save by Rui Patricio from Jakub Blaszczykowski’s penalty allowed Ricardo Quaresma to strike the decisive kick in the shootout that took Portugal into the semi-finals
Fernando Santos’s team deserved to win here, having been the better team for most of the game and, when it came down to penalties, they made sure that they set up a semi-final against Wales or Belgium next Wednesday. After the Poland winger Jakub Blaszczykowski had his kick saved by a diving Rui PatrĂcio, the Portugal substitute Ricardo Quaresma beat Lukasz Fabianski to spark delirium.