Euro Cortado #16: Make mine a Costa
Other coffee brands are available, but Belgium and Slovenia's chances of Euro 2024 glory are not
Who needs goals to be entertained? Give me Portugal 0-0 Slovenia (AET) on repeat any day over France 1-0 Belgium, and I’m fairly confident I am not in the minority with that opinion!
Another big gun stutters but makes it through against an underdog, while two more big guns misfire - it’s just a shame they couldn’t both be eliminated.
It’s a late one today, but I always find I need an extra coffee on a Tuesday, so take an extra break and enjoy this Euro Cortado.
Costa the latte hero
On Sunday, all members of the goalkeepers’ union mourned the loss of Georgia’s Giorgi Mamardashvili from the tournament, as his side bowed out with their heads high.
Just 24 hours later, our new hero in gloves emerged from the shadows - is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Portugal’s Diogo Costa!
After his side failed to take chance after chance in both normal and extra time against Slovenia, Costa bailed his team out of trouble with a mammoth one-on-one save to deny Benjamin Šeško deep into the second half of extra time.
Then, his hero status was confirmed by saving all three Slovenian penalties in the shootout to send Portugal through to the last eight.
Costa has a reputation as being something of a penalty-saving expert at Porto, which, in my opinion, is becoming more of a challenge for goalkeepers.
Despite so much data and footage available on where players like to strike their spot-kicks, referees are now far stricter on goalkeepers who step as much as a millimetre over the line, hampering ‘keepers’ chances of springing themselves towards the ball.
Yet Costa stepped up and swatted the Slovenian penalties away like he had activated something of a cheat code, and as is so often overlooked with goalkeepers - footwork is key.
He certainly is not the first to use the technique of planting one foot behind the line in order to propel the body out to the side, but he appears to be one of the first goalkeepers in the VAR age to really master it.
Of course, he still had to guess - or go - the right way for all three penalties, but as we see so often, that is not always enough. The way he attacked the ball each time really was something to behold, and worthy of winning the match.
Šeško needs yet another chance
It could easily have been the other goalkeeper from yesterday evening’s game that would get the headlines.
Jan Oblak was monumental for Slovenia, making a world class penalty save of his own from Cristiano Ronaldo in extra time after keeping CR7 at bay twice in normal time.
As I said in my preview, in Oblak and Šeško, Slovenia had enough to upset a few teams. What I didn’t expect was the rest of the team to step up and form a resolute, defensive unit which failed to be beaten in 90 or 120 minutes in Germany.
The squad excelled, Oblak was incredible, but I’m sorry to say the reason Slovenia are heading home today is Benjamin Šeško.
I feel bad about pointing the blame at a kid who only recently turned 21, playing for the team with the smallest population at these finals, but still, I expected more of him.
In the Group Stage he was limited to pot-shots from long range, and he had another which forced Costa into a save in the first half. In the second half, however, he scuffed a great chance when goal-side of Pepe which should have been on target at the very least.
Then, deep into extra-time, he was presented a gift by Pepe, sending him through on goal to put Slovenia into their first ever quarter-final. Yes, Costa’s save was brilliant, but in reality he shouldn’t have had a prayer - Šeško should have buried it.
Slovenia were playing in their first major tournament for 14 years, if they are to wait as long again for their next, Šeško will be 35. He had more opportunities in this game than many strikers get in all their major tournament games combined, but let’s hope he doesn’t have to wait so long for yet another chance.
Can’t they both go out?
From a tense World Cup semi-final to a drab, dismal European Championship Round of 16 match in the space of six years; Belgium vs France fixtures have had their day.
The luck of the draw meant their reward for underwhelming in the Group Stage was a meeting with each other, avoiding any of the teams that have actually impressed at this tournament.
The saddest part, however, was that one of them had to go through, and after 90 turgid minutes, it was Jan Vertonghen’s own goal that sent France to the quarter-finals. I don’t like seeing games being decided by own goals, and I cannot stand seeing the OG numbers continue to rise at these Euros (especially after a record number three years ago). At the highest level, I want to see matches decided by moments of brilliance and skill, not costly mistakes.
Yet, perhaps France and Belgium at Euro 2024 are only worthy of a match settled in such a way? One can moan about a team reaching the knockout stage without winning a group match, but what do we say to teams who have reached the last eight without any of their players scoring a goal from anywhere but the penalty spot?
Belgium have been unlucky with VAR calls, but they can have no excuses for their lifeless showing yesterday. France’s was not much better, and hopefully we will see the back of them after they meet Portugal.
Anthony Tomas is a football writer and commentator, who writes for Flashscore and World Soccer Magazine.