Thursday, June 30, 2016

Ronaldo struggles as Portugal reaches Euro 2016 semis (The Associated Press)

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo foreground celebrates past teammates at the end of the Euro 2016 quarterfinal soccer match between Poland and Portugal, at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, France, Thursday, June 30, 2016. Portugal won 5-3 in a penalty shootout. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

When Cristiano Ronaldo failed to deliver, it fell to an 18-year-old newcomer starting his first game to help Portugal reach the semifinals of the European Championship. Teenager Renato Sanches had a coming-of-age outing for Portugal, scoring with a stunning shot from distance to cancel out Robert Lewandowski's early goal for Poland, and then converting his penalty in Thursday's shootout. At 18 years and 316 days old, Sanches became the youngest player to score in a knockout round at the continental competition, quite a way to return the trust placed in him by coach Fernando Santos on his first start of the tournament.


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