Portugal beat Poland 6-4(5-3 on penalties) in the first quarter-final of the 2016 European Championships in a nail-biting game in Marseille on Thursday night.

The Portuguese had not won a single match in regulation time in the tournament, and that trend continued when Robert Lewandowski&’s early goal was cancelled out by Renato Sanches&’s fine strike.

Cristiano Ronaldo, notorious for opting to take the last penalty four years ago in a loss to Spain, didn’t take any chances this time as he stepped up first after Poland had decided to save first

He and his countrymen showed nerves of steel, sending a hapless Lukasz Fabianski the wrong way each time they took a spot kick.

Poland kept pace until their fourth kick, when winger Jakub Błaszczykowski&’s low shot was brilliantly saved by the Portuguese custodian Rui Patricio. Patricio guessed correctly and got a strong hand to the ball and set the stage for Ricardo Quaresma to score the winning kick.

And the ex-Chelsea man duly obliged, swaggering in his run-up, before calmly sending Fabianski the wrong way to spark wild Portuguese celebrations at the Stade Velodrome.

It had all started horribly for Portugal though, as they went a goal down in the second minute itself. Right-full back Cedric Soares misjudged a bouncing ball and was caught out of position, which allowed Kamil Grosicki to send a fizzing ball into the box.

Robert Lewandowski, who had been having a poor showing so far at the Euros, showed un-matched predatory instincts to time his run to perfection and apply a simple finish to get his team a vital lead.

Portugal began to wake up after that rude shock, and started to dominate possession but were unable to fashion any concrete chances.

It was Poland, who looked dangerous on the counter, with Arek Milik and Lewandowski combining well and stretching the Portguese defence each time they got the ball.

Ronaldo had the best chances in the opening half-hour, but was having one his wasteful nights in front of goal. His link-up play was excellent as he rarely lost a header during the whole game, but his finishing left a lot to be desired.

Portugal&’s talisman was not performing and they needed somebody to step up.

Enter Renato Sanches, all of 18 years with some catchy dreadlocks. He was starting for the first time in a major championship, yet showed no nerves what so ever. Constantly on the move, it was always him who seemed likely to score.

And in the 33rd minute, he did just that. Coming in from the right-wing, Sanches collected a lovely lay-off from Nani before letting fly with his left foot. His shot took a deflection of a Polish defender which proved key in deceiving Fabianski.

Ronaldo continued to get multiple chances to put Portugal in front, but somehow he was unable to find the net on each occassion.

Poland threatened intermittently as their own star-man and Captain, Lewandowski kept flitting in and out of the game.

Cedric, at fault for the opener, was excellent on the night, sending in accurate crosses by the dozen, but thanks to a dogged Polish defence, his countrymen just could not score.

Joao Moutinho and Ricardo Quaresma were sent on in the second half as Fernando Santos urged his team to finish the game in regulation time.

And had Ronaldo been just a little sharper, they would have for sure.

In the end though, the result is what matters in football, not the journey. Portugal are through and have a very real chance of lifting that trophy come July 10.

They will face the winners of the Wales-Belgium quarter-final, and will be fancying their chances after beating a dangerous Croatia and now a stubborn Poland.