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Petr David Josek
AS IT HAPPENED

As it happened: Poland v Portugal, Euro 2016 quarter-finals

Poland took on Portugal for a spot in the semi-finals of the tournament.

Hello, and welcome to tonight’s liveblog.

As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the game. E-mail paul@the42.ie, tweet @the42_ie, post a message to our Facebook wall, or leave a comment below.

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Below are the teams for tonight. Interestingly, Renato Sanches starts for Portugal…

Poland: Fabianski; Piszczek, Glik, Pazdan, Jedrzejczyk; Blaszczykowski, Krychowiak, Maczynski, Grosicki; Lewandowski, Milik.

Portugal: Rui Patrício; Soares, Pepe, Fonte, Eliseu; Carvalho, Adrien Silva, Renato Sanches, João Mário; Nani, Ronaldo.

“Lewandowski got the most goals of any player in qualifying for the finals. But he has not scored in four games in France. Poland must thank its powerful defence for much of its success at Euro 2016.

“Poland coach Adam Nawalka insists he still has full confidence in Lewandowski. But he is also wating for Ajax Amsterdam striker Arkadiusz Milik to come good for Poland.”

More thoughts on Poland-Portugal and the other Euro 2016 quarter-finals here.

We’re underway…

POLAND 1-0 PORTUGAL (LEWANDOWSKI 2)

Sensational start for Poland and it emanates from a mistake in the Portuguese defence.

Full-back Soares completely misjudges the bounce of the ball, allowing Grosicki to break free down the left.

The winger’s pinpoint cross finds Lewandowski, who slots home confidently. So much for his goal drought.

So after five games, Lewandowski finally opens his account. Check out the goal below…

Soares attempts to make up for his earlier error by charging down the right.

His cross finds Ronaldo, whose shot is blocked, before Nani sees another shot blocked.

Portugal have responded well to the concession of that early goal.

They are dominating possession and have Poland pinned well back into their own half currently.

Poland break and Milik shoots wide with a pot shot.

The forward had options there so his teammates may not be overly happy at the decision to take the selfish option.

Shortly thereafter, Lewnadowski finds himself in a promising position, but shoots straight at Rui Patrício from the edge of the box.

A Ronaldo free kick goes straight into the wall. That’s his 41st consecutive unsuccessful free kick attempt according to TV3.

Portugal are already starting to look a little frustrated after a decent 10-minute spell following the goal.

Decent chance for Poland following a nice passing move.

Grosicki gets to the by-line but can’t find a teammate with his cross.

It’s gotten very scrappy in recent minutes.

Having looked good briefly after the goal, Portugal are posing barely any threat at all now.

A cross goes towards Ronaldo and Pazdan unceremoniously knocks the Real Madrid star over as he attempts to get on the end of it.

The referee ignores Portugal claims, but there’s no reason why that shouldn’t be a penalty.

PORTUGAL 1-1 POLAND (SANCHES 33)

The 18-year-old has brought Portugal level.

He links up well with Nani, before his shot takes a wicked deflection off Krychowiak and finds the corner of the net.

Sanches, who signed a contract with Bayern Munich back in May after €35million offer to Benfica, becomes the youngest player to score in a Euros knockout match.

Renato Sanches in the third youngest player to score in the history of the Euros behind England’s Wayne Rooney and Switzerland’s Johan Vonlanthen.

Here’s a look at the goal…

Poland defender Artur Jedrzejczyk cynically brings down William Carvalho.

He is consequently booked, which means he’ll miss the semi-finals should Poland progress tonight.

HALF-TIME: POLAND 1-1 PORTUGAL

So, half-time, and 1-1 is probably a fair reflection of how the first half has panned out.

Poland took the lead early, as Lewandowski finally broke his goal duck, before Adam Nawałka’s side sat back and largely soaked up pressure, while occasionally looking menacing on the counter-attack.

The Portuguese team have at times looked frustrated, with Ronaldo struggling to make an impact, but their perseverance was eventually rewarded, as teenager Renato Sanches — who has looked lively this evening — scored as his shot took a fortuitous deflection off Sevilla midfielder Krychowiak.

Consequently, with a half to play, this game remains very much there for the taking, after a relatively evenly fought opening 45 minutes.

The second half is underway…

Poland have started the second half on the front foot.

Piszczek’s cross finds Lewandowski, but the striker’s header deflects harmlessly into the arms of Rui Patrício.

Poland v Portugal - UEFA Euro 2016 - Quarter Final - Stade Velodrome Poland fans burn flares in the stands. EMPICS Sport EMPICS Sport

Poland look well in control right now.

There’s plenty of patient build-up play with Portugal now forced to sit back and work diligently off the ball.

Nani plays through Ronaldo, but the latter’s finish from a tight angle is poor.

The superstar hit the side-netting when he probably should have crossed to João Mário, who was waiting in the box.

Nani crosses for Ronaldo, who mis-hits his attempted shot, before a subsequent attempt from João Mário is blocked.

Down the other end, Piszczek is seeing plenty of the ball down the right, and the full-back could punish Portugal ultimately if they continue to afford him space.

Excellent attempt from Soares, whose powerful drive from distance goes just wide.

Portugal are starting to look increasingly threatening on the break, as Poland begin to tire.

Meanwhile, Glik is booked for a late challenge on Ronaldo, who is becoming more influential as the game opens up.

Milik gets on the end of Jędrzejczyk’s cross, but he fails to properly connect and Rui Patrício collects the ball easily.

This game is still impossible to call, as both sides push for a winner.

Portugal make a change as Adrien Silva is replaced by Joao Moutinho.

Just over 15 minutes remain.

A Błaszczykowski interception starts a promising counter-attack for Poland.

However, the move ends with a tired effort by Grosicki that goes well wide.

Fonte wins a header from a corner, but it’s straight at Fabianski.

This game feels like it’s heading for extra time.

Ricardo Quaresma, who scored the winner in the round of 16 match against Croatia, has replaced João Mário.

As I type, a Pepe pass is almost deflected into his own goal by a lunging Jędrzejczyk, but the ball trickles just wide of the post.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Kapustka comes on for Poland in place of Grosicki.

The TV3 co-commentator has been the real star of the show tonight…

Soccer Euro 2016 Poland Portugal Portugal's Pepe, right, falls after a tackle by Poland's Grzegorz Krychowiak. Petr David Josek Petr David Josek

Ronaldo misses a gilt-edged chance.

It’s a superb chipped through ball from Moutinho, but the 31-year-old attacker totally fails to connect with his attempted finish.

Portugal producing a series of slow, sideways passes now, as it looks like they’re happy to settle for extra-time.

Meanwhile, Kapustka gets booked for a late tackle.

Silly from William Carvalho, who cynically drags back his opponent.

The incident means he gets booked and will now miss the semi-final should Portugal progress.

FULL-TIME: PORTUGAL 1-1 POLAND – EXTRA TIME TO BE PLAYED

So, we’re all set for another 30 minutes then.

The game remains finely balanced, with Portugal in particular seeming content to let the game go to extra-time — indeed, they’ve yet to win a match in normal time in this tournament.

Portugal had better possession and territory after the break, with Ronaldo missing one great opportunity, but overall it’s been a very tight match with chances few and far between.

The first half of extra-time has begun…

Another chance wasted by Ronaldo, as he fails to control Eliseu’s cross.

It hasn’t been his night so far.

Błaszczykowski’s through pass narrowly misses Milik.

This game appears to be opening up now.

Ronaldo scores the first penalty! 1-0 Portugal!

Poland make a change as Jodłowiec comes on for Mączyński.

Adam Nawałka’s side certainly require a fresh pair of legs as they look very tired now.

As I type, Nani’s glancing header goes wide, as Portugal threaten again.

Milik gets a sight on goal, as his powerful shot goes just wide of the post amid a rare Poland attack.

Is this game destined for penalties?

A Lewandowski shot rolls across the face of the goal and evades everyone.

Down the other end, Nani, who has looked sharp in this tournament, shoots straight at Fabianski.

Soccer Euro 2016 Poland Portugal Jakub Blaszczykowski is cooled with ice before the extra-time started. Martin Meissner Martin Meissner

HALF-TIME OF EXTRA-TIME: PORTUGAL 1-1 POLAND

Both sides looked extremely tired during that first half and would probably both take penalties now if offered.

Ronaldo missed another chance, while Poland had a decent effort with Milik, but overall, it was a relatively tepid 15 minutes of football with an increasingly slow tempo.

The second half of extra-time is underway…

It’s been a dull start to the second half, until suddenly a supporter runs onto the pitch and is rugby tackled by a security guard.

That’s livened things up somewhat.

Decent break by Portugal, but Jędrzejczyk is well positioned to head clear a dangerous-looking cross.

Neither side looks capable of breaking the other down at the moment — it will probably require an individual error for something to happen at this stage.

Heart in mouths time for Portugal’s defence, as Kapustka’s lofted cross sails across goal, but again, no one can get on the end of it.

The teenager has shown a few nice touches since coming off the bench.

FULL-TIME: PORTUGAL 1-1 POLAND – PENALTIES TO BE PLAYED

So that’s that — penalties it is!

Extra-time felt like a waste of time, with neither side looking like scoring, and both appearing similarly exhausted.

After a dull second half and an uneventful extra-time, it feels like we’re due a bit of drama and excitement.

Portugal 1-1 Poland - Lewandowski

Portugal 2-1 Poland – Sanches

Portugal 2-2 Poland – Milik.

Portugal 3-2 Poland – Moutinho.

Portugal 3-3 Poland – Glik.

Portugal 4-3 Poland – Nani

Portugal 4-3 Poland – Błaszczykowski misses.

PORTUGAL WIN PENALTY SHOOTOUT AGAINST POLAND 5-3!

Quaresma is the hero again as he sends Portugal through to the semi-final for the fifth time in their last seven attempts.

It’s probably just about deserved on the balance of the game — they looked to play more, and had the slightly better chances.

The result also means Portugal are in the semi-finals despite still not winning a game in 90 minutes in this competition.

Right, that’s all from me.

Thanks for reading and commenting, and keep an eye out for further reaction to follow.

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