EURO 2024 Report for Premier League Players – Day 18

EPL Players at EURO 2024 – Day 18

Two more round of 16 games took place last night, with favourites France and Portugal both struggling to make it past Belgium and Slovenia, respectively, but did so in the end. As part of our EPLNews EURO 2024 report, here is how Premier League players performed in these games.

France 1-0 Belgium

A late Jan Vertonghen own goal meant that the remainder of Belgium’s ‘Golden Generation’ headed back home after more tournament heartbreak. It was a match that definitely promised more before kick-off, only to end up not living up to the billing.

Despite France dominating the game, the more important chances, especially in the second half, fell Belgium’s way, as Yannick Carrasco’s shot was blocked at the last moment by Theo Hernandez, while Kevin De Bruyne’s was saved well by Mike Maignan. The only goal came in the 85th minute, when a Randal Kolo-Muani shot deflected off Vertonghen and sent France through to the quarter-finals.

Premier League players did not exactly cover themselves in glory in this game, as Arsenal’s William Saliba for France was the best performer among them, while Timothy Castagne and Amadou Onana did not impact the game enough.

Ratings

France: William Saliba (Arsenal) – 7

Belgium: Timothy Castagne (Fulham) – 5.5; Wout Faes (Leicester) – 6.5; Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) – 7; Amadou Onana (Everton) – 6; Jeremy Doku (Manchester City) – 7; Orel Mangala (Nottingham Forest) – 6;

You can find highlights and reactions from this game by clicking here.

Portugal 1p-0 Slovenia (3-0 in the penalty shootout)

Slovenia almost provided a huge shock last night as they came close to eliminating one of the tournament’s favourites.

It was a fairly entertaining 0-0 after 120 minutes, as Portugal racked up the chances and possession, but could not find a way past Slovenia. Extra time brought about a missed penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo, as he still looks for his first goal at EURO 2024. Also in extra time there was a big one-on-one chance for Benjamin Šeško to score, but Portugal goalie Diogo Costa had other plans.

Costa’s heroics continued during the penalty shootout, when he saved all three of Slovenia’s penalties to send his team through. Portugal’s shootout goals were scored by Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva.

Premier League players did reasonably well in this game, with João Palhinha and Rúben Dias performing at a high level to keep Slovenia at bay.

Ratings

Portugal: Rúben Dias (Manchester City) – 7.5; Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) – 7.5; João Palhinha (Fulham) – 8; Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) – 7; Diogo Jota (Liverpool) – 6.5; Nelson Semedo (Wolves) – N/A

Slovenia: N/A

Click here for highlights, reactions and details from this game.