Poland vs. Portugal: Score and Twitter Reaction from Euro 2016

Portugal needed penalties to beat Poland on Thursday and advance to the UEFA Euro 2016 semi-finals after Jakub Blaszczykowski saw his spot-kick saved by Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio. The score was 1-1 after 120 minutes of action.

Robert Lewandowski gave Poland an early lead with his first goal of the tournament, but Renato Sanches tied things up with a deflected strike.

The second half was a lot more cagey and didn't produce many chances, leading to extra time and eventually penalties. All players converted their kicks, except for Blaszczykowski, who was denied.

Portugal will meet the winner of the match between Belgium and Wales in the semi-finals.

As shared by Portugal's official Twitter account, former Benfica star Sanches was handed a start after his strong cameo performance against Croatia:

Poland started with plenty of intensity, finding success on the left wing early, and it took the team less than two minutes to open the score.

Kamil Grosicki raced down the left, beating Eliseu before cutting the ball back to Lewandowski, who finally scored his first goal of Euro 2016.

Bleacher Report's Karl Matchett was happy with what he was seeing:

Portugal were immediately forced to take control of the ball, negating their perceived athletic advantage, and both Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani had shots blocked. Joao Mario also saw a Polish body deflect one of his shots safely into the hands of goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

Uncredited/Associated Press

Ronaldo's struggles with free-kicks continued, as he powered yet another effort into the wall. Lewandowski then shook off a challenge from Pepe before testing Portugal stopper Patricio on the other side of the pitch.

The Tactics Room was impressed with the Bayern Munich ace:

The Poland forwards all appeared in sync early, and a lovely passing move between Lewandowski, Grosicki and Arkadiusz Milik nearly led to a second goal. Grosicki tried one pass too many instead of shooting himself, however, and Portugal were able to clear.

Per Squawka Football, their opponents didn't show much in attack early:

Portugal fired a shot straight at Fabianski after a lucky bounce saw the ball fall right in his path, but then controversy struck. Michal Pazdan ran into the back of Ronaldo, who was getting ready for a header and went down after the contact, but the official decided the contact was too light and didn't award a penalty.

ESPN FC's Taylor Twellman was shocked the official didn't blow the whistle:

The non-call seemed to fire Portugal up, however, and they soon equalised. Sanches, who had struggled up until that point, took a clever pass from Nani and watched as his deflected strike found the near post, giving Fabianski no chance.

Per OptaJoe, Sanches made history with his goal:

"

18y 316d - Renato Sanches is the youngest player to score in a knockout stage game at the Euros. Arrival. #POR #Euro2016

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 30, 2016"

Poland then pushed forward in search of another goal, and Grosicki curled a fine cross into the box that was only just cleared by Patricio, with Blaszczykowski not finding the target with the rebound.

Ronaldo again went down under pressure on the edge of the box without earning a free-kick, before Nani fired a tame shot into the arms of Fabianski to end the half.

VALERY HACHE/Getty Images

Both teams came out with a cautious game plan to start the second half, and the first half-chance fell to Lewandowski, who just failed to get a good touch on a cross. Ronaldo challenged Fabianski for a cross, but the stopper claimed the ball in two tries.

Ronaldo perhaps should have squared the ball to Mario after a quick counter-attack in the 55th minute, but the Real Madrid star decided to try his luck from a tough angle, hitting the side netting. He scuffed a shot just a few minutes later, and Adrien Silva's follow-up effort was blocked.

Portugal continued to press for a goal, and Cedric Soares just missed the top corner with a powerful strike Fabianski had covered.

Copa90 noticed the intensity of the match had dropped, however:

Milik beat Pepe to a low cross but could only divert the ball at Patricio, and Grosicki missed the target completely with a wild half-volley.

Chances remained few, as Poland tried to press up the wings with their full-backs but struggled with their final pass, and Portugal had possession but didn't take any real risks.

Football Italia thought it was clear what both teams' intentions were:

Jose Fonte powered a header at Fabianski with 12 minutes left to play, and Pepe nearly picked out Ronaldo with a clever through ball soon after. Artur Jedrzejczyk almost beat his own goalkeeper when cutting out the pass.

Ronaldo had another chance to decide the match with five minutes left to play after a stunning pass from Joao Moutinho, but once again the star forward missed the ball.

Copa90 had the perfect reaction:

"

Oh my oh my Ronaldo... #POLPOR pic.twitter.com/QobyZk5BED

— Copa90 (@Copa90) June 30, 2016"

The final minutes of the match didn't see any action whatsoever, with both teams eyeing extra time. 

Poland sat back very deep to start extra time, inviting Portugal to advance almost to the edge of the box, and a slip from Pazdan nearly allowed Ronaldo to take full advantage from close range.

Lars Baron/Getty Images

Poland barely threatened Patricio's goal, although Milik went close with an ambitious shot from long range. 

At the end of the first half of extra time, Bleacher Report UK was not entertained:

A pitch invader got the fans on their feet early in the second half, to the delight of Squawka Football:

Lukasz Piszczek nearly found Milik with a cross, but Pepe intervened, and the team's final attack achieved nothing. That meant penalties would decide the first semi-finalists. 

Ronaldo opened the scoring for Portugal, and Lewandowski followed suit for Poland. Sanches, Milik, Moutinho, Kamil Glik and Nani all converted, before Patricio dove to his left to deny Blaszczykowski. Substitute Ricardo Quaresma was once again Portugal's hero, dispatching the winning spot-kick emphatically.

Post-Match Reaction

Per BBC Sport's Phil Dawkes, Poland manager Adam Nawalka said:

"

It's definitely a tough moment for us. The players put a lot of heart into this match and played bravely throughout this tournament. We haven't lost a match—we were knocked out on penalties. We have to look with optimism to the future and the European qualifiers. There will soon be time for detailed analysis but this defeat hurts.

"

According to Portuguese football writer Tom Kundert, Portugal boss Fernando Santos remained bullish about his side's chances:

Portugal still haven't won a match in regulation during Euro 2016, but they dominated the ball against Poland and fully deserved their spot in the semi-finals.

Belgium or Wales await in those semi-finals, and Santos' troops will like their chances of advancing over both. Portugal beat the Red Devils in a friendly just before the start of Euro 2016, and while Wales have played well so far, they lack the individual talent to match up with this Portuguese side.