Euro 2016 Results: Scores, Highlights, Reaction After Thursday's Quarterfinals

Football can be a cruel sport.

Just ask Poland. The country never trailed at the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament but is heading home after losing in a penalty shootout to Portugal at Stade Velodrome in Marseille, France, on Thursday, 1-1 (5-3 on penalties).  

Football can be a beautiful sport too. 

Just ask Portugal. Despite not yet winning a game in regulation and holding a lead in this tournament for all of 19 minutes, per James Horncastle of BT Sport, it is off to the semifinals on a day when Cristiano Ronaldo scuffed several opportunities and Poland took a lead less than two minutes into the match on a Robert Lewandowski goal.

Superstar-in-the-making Renato Sanches equalized in the 33rd minute for Portugal before Rui Patricio and Ricardo Quaresma provided the heroics in the penalty shootout.

Portugal's trip to the semifinals set a bit of history, per Richard Jolly of ESPN FC:

The two sides were mostly even throughout, with Poland holding 52 percent of possession, while Portugal held the advantage in shots, 19-14 (5-5 on goal), per WhoScored.com.

It took Poland all of 100 seconds to score, however. And it was Lewandowski finally breaking his 644-minute goalscoring drought at the Euros to give it the lead, per ESPN FC.

Kamil Grosicki raced down the left flank on the Polish attack just inside the second minute and spotted Lewandowski in the middle of the box. He ripped a low cross to the Bayern Munich superstar, and Lewandowski deftly opened up his foot and perfectly placed his shot just inside the left post to make the game 1-0.

It was the second-fastest goal in a game at the Euros in the tournament's history, according to OptaJoe. 

And former player and football pundit Gary Lineker was glad to see Lewandowski end his scoring struggles:

Indeed, it was Lewandowski's first international goal in all competitions since Novemember 2015 against Iceland, per WhoScored.com.

Poland wouldn't escape the first half with its lead intact, however.

Portugal had a strong case that the referee should have awarded it a penalty in the first 45 minutes, as Ronaldo was clearly shoved from behind as he looked to get in position for a cross into the box. The referee saw things differently, however, abstaining from pointing to the box.

Max Bretos of ESPN felt it was a clear penalty:

"

Cristiano #Ronaldo should be lining up a penalty right now. #POLPOR

— Maximiliano Bretos (@mbretosESPN) June 30, 2016"

Telegraph Football humorously agreed:

Sanches would render that a somewhat moot point in the 33rd minute, however, playing a lovely one-two with Nani at the edge of the box to put himself in shooting position. From there, he ripped a blistering left-footed shot that beat Lukasz Fabianski.

That goal made history, as OptaJoe noted:

And Ives Galarcep of SBISoccer.com noted the huge potential Sanches possesses after his fantastic finish:

Neither team could find a winner in regulation time, a fact perhaps particularly cruel to Ronaldo, who whiffed on two separate occasions after two brilliant setups from his teammates. Vintage Ronaldo this was not.

Neither team could find a winner in extra time, either, sending the match to penalties.

Ronaldo, Sanches, Joao Moutinho and Nani led off with successful conversions for Portugal, as did Lewandowski, Arkadiusz Milik and Kamil Glik for Poland. But on the eighth attempt, Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio finally guessed right, diving to his left and stopping Jakub Blaszczykowski's effort. 

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

That gave Quaresma the chance to win the match for Portugal, and he did just that, smashing a powerful effort that Fabianski got his hand on but couldn't deflect clear of the goal.

Portugal now awaits the winner of the Wales and Belgium on Friday, a match the Belgians will be favored to win, though Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Company have played well in this tournament.

Either Belgium or Wales will likely take its chances against a resolute Portugal side that hasn't been dominant in France. The Portuguese, in fact, have felt like they've been holding on for dear life at times, though they've found a way into the semifinals.

A matchup between Real Madrid teammates Bale and Ronaldo would be intriguing, though it would also be fascinating to see the rugged Portuguese take on the skilled and flashy Belgian attackers, led by Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne.

Either matchup would be interesting. But one thing is for certain—if the match goes to extra time, don't bet against Portugal.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.