EURO on this day: 28 June
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
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On this day: Zinédine Zidane capped a sublime individual display with a semi-final golden goal.
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France 2-1 Portugal (aet, gg)
(Henry 51, Zidane 117pen; Nuno Gomes 19)
2000 semi-finals, Brussels
A Zinédine Zidane penalty three minutes from the end of extra time gave France a golden-goal victory over Portugal in Brussels after Abel Xavier was adjudged to have handled a Sylvain Wiltord shot.
Following a fractious opening, Portugal broke the deadlock with their first shot on goal, the off-balance Nuno Gomes steering past Fabien Barthez from 20 metres. France rose to the challenge, finally fashioning an equaliser through Thierry Henry.
"The ball wasn't even for me," he recalls. "If you watch the replay, Nicolas Anelka is crossing the ball for Emmanuel Petit. When you look at Emmanuel Petit behind me, he's actually complaining, 'You should've left it!'"
Still, had Xavier's added-time header been further away from Barthez, it would have been Portugal, not Les Bleus, going through to the showpiece. Zidane ensured otherwise with the shoot-out looming.
France 3-3 Switzerland (aet, Switzerland won 5-4 on penalties)
(Benzema 57 59, Pogba 75; Seferović 15 81, Gavranović 90)
2020 round of 16, Bucharest
Few EURO games have seen momentum swing back and forth like this pulsating contest, with Switzerland setting the tone thanks to an impressive first-half display that yielded Haris Seferović's opener.
The tide turned, however, in the 55th minute when Hugo Lloris brilliantly saved Ricardo Rodríguez's penalty and, within four minutes, Karim Benzema's double nudged France in front. Paul Pogba then seemingly put the tie to bed.
There was to be another huge twist, though, as a second Seferović header and Mario Gavranović's dramatic equaliser forced extra time then penalties. France ultimately blinked in the shoot-out, with a run of nine successful spot kicks ended when Yann Sommer denied Kylian Mbappé.
"It's amazing," said Granit Xhaka, Switzerland captain. "We wrote the history of this footballing nation."
Other EURO fixtures on 28 June
2012 semi-finals: Germany 1-2 Italy
2020 round of 16: Croatia 3-5 Spain (aet)
