Relive Spain's victory over Portugal in Euro semi-finals

Ahram Online, Wednesday 27 Jun 2012

Spain reach the Euro final on Wednesday after a penalty shootout drama with Portugal. Relive the match!

Iniesta
Spain's Andres Iniesta and Portugal's Joao Pereira challenge for the ball (AP)

Spain will either face Germany or Italy who face off on Thursday in the second semi-final match!

Fàbregas scores to send Spain to final!!

Alves misses, hits the post!

Ramos scores!

Nani scores!

Piqué scores!

Pepe scores!

Iniesta scores! 

Moutinho misses too! Denied by Casillas!

Alonso misses! Patrício palms his effort!

Here we go, Spain will take the first penalty kick!

The penalty shootout will determine which team will qualify for the Euro 2012 final!

120 Extra-time is over. A penalty shootout is imminent now!

119 Pedro eludes a couple of players skillfully before passing the ball that was stolen by a Portugal defender in the area

117 A neat attack for the superior Spain is marred by offside!

114 Spain's Pedro comes close to a one-on-one chance but a combative Coentrão clears the danger!

114 Spain's Alonso is booked for tackling Ronaldo

113 Portugal's Meireles gives way to Varela

111 A neat exchange of passes by the Spain frontline, which Navas ends with a powerful low shot that Portugal shot-stopper Patrício saves 

109 Iniesta puts in a one-man show while heading towards the goal but eventually loses control over the ball

106 The last playing 15 minutes of the match is underway!

105+1 The first half of extra-time is over!

105+1 Portugal's Custódio replaces Veloso

105 Injury time: One minute

103 Iniesta fails to divert home from close range an Alba low cross; the first real chance in extra-time!

101 A couple of corner kicks for Spain that pose no threat

99 Ronaldo is thwarted twice by his markers at the left wing as the extra time is yet to see a clear-cut chance

94 Both teams are showing cautiousness in the early minutes of extra-time

91 Extra-time is underway

90+3 The second half ends as the match goes into extra time!

90+2 Veloso is booked for a violent tackle on Spain's Alba

90 Injury time: Three minutes

89 Ronaldo fails to end a fast counter attack with a goal as his shot goes wide

88 Spain's Pedro replaces Xavi as the match is heading towards extra time with a goalless draw!

86 Portugal's Alves booked for violently tackling Fàbregas 

85 Ronaldo's shot hits Arbeloa's hand. The latter was booked to have handled the ball. Ronaldo take the second free kick but misses the target with a lame effort!

83 Ronaldo earns another free kick near the area, he is set to take it!

81 Oliveira replaces Portugal's Almeida

79 Fàbregas releases a long-range drive but misses the target by quite some distance

73 What a shot! An accurate free kick by Ronaldo goes over the bar by inches!

71 Ronaldo earns a free kick near the edge; his favourite spot for free kicks 

68 Almeida latches onto a Ronaldo pass inside the area but his effort from a tight angle goes wide

66 Spain put Portugal under pressure for a short while, but to no avail. 7 minutes past the hour marks and the deadlock is yet to be broken

65 Portugal defender Pereira receives a yellow card too

61 Spain's Silva makes way for Navas in the match's second substitution

60 Busquets gets booked for objection against the referee for not granting Ronaldo a penalty kick. The latter was obstructed by Ramos

59 The in-form Almeida tries his luck again from a narrow angle but misses the target

58 Almeida cannons a long-range powerful shot that goes over the crossbar!

55 Spain's Fàbregas replaces Negredo in the first substitution of the match

53 Spain and Portugal each earn a corner kick but neither capitalize on their set-piece

49 The opening minutes of the second half are by far eventless

46 The second half is underway!

Players are getting back on the pitch

45 The referee blows his whistle as the first half ends goalless

44 Coentrão is booked for tackling Iniesta 

41 Spain's Ramos receives the first yellow card in the match

38 Silva seeks to penetrate Portugal's area but gets obstructed by the backline

34 Four minutes past the half-hour mark and the score-line remains 0-0 

31 Ronaldo replies fast with a low shot that narrowly goes past the post!

29 A golden chance for Spain!! Xavi releases Iniesta inside the area but the latter's curling effort agonizingly goes over the bar

27 Portugal pile up some pressure on Spain but only create half-chances through several crosses that found no one 

24 Ronaldo tries his luck from outside the area but his shot misses the target by a mile! 

22 Tempo slows down again as both sides start to show cautiousness

20 The match's tempo turns fast, with both teams exchanging attacks without real threat

17 Ronaldo tries to break the deadlock with one of his trademark free kicks from a very tight angle, only to see his effort hit the wall

14 Portugal's Ronaldo outruns his marker down the left flank to send a cross, easily handled by Patrício!

09 Arbeloa could have opened the scoring with an effort from the edge of the area, but his shot goes inches above the bar. Spain seem to be taking over!

07 After a lengthy pass exchange, a long ball from Spain is easily cleared by the Portugal rearguard  

05 Portugal seem to have the upper hand in the early minutes in terms of ball possession, but both teams are yet to carve out clear-cut opportunities

02 Portugal are seeking to snatch an early opener but their attack only results in a corner kick that poses no threat on Spain

00 Players shake hands and the match is underway!

20:40 The national anthems of both countries are played as the match is about to start

20:20 Portugal's players are also on the pitch warming up as the game is to start in 25 minutes

20:02 Spain's players have just stepped onto the pitch to warm up

20:00 The Donbass Arena is still nearly empty as the match kicks off in 45 minutes 

19:55 Teams lineups

Spain: Casillas, Piqué, Ramos, Arbeloa, Alba, Iniesta, Xavi, Alonso, Busquets, Silva, Negredo
SUBS: Valdés, Reina, Albiol, Martínez, Juanfran, Fàbregas, Cazorla, Navas, Pedro Rodríguez, Torres, Mata, Llorente.

Portugal: Patrício, Alves, Pepe, Coentrão, Pereira, Veloso, Moutinho, Meireles, Nani, Ronaldo, Almeida
SUBS: Eduardo, Beto, Costa, Rolando, Lopes, Custódio, Quaresma, Micael, Viana, Oliveira, Varela, Postiga.

19:47 The game will be played at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk.

19:45 Welcome to our live coverage for the crucial semi-final clash between Spain and Portugal in Europe's elite competition.

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