Pepe

France edged out Belgium in perhaps the most eagerly anticipated tie of the last 16 on Monday, but most of the drama came later on as Portugal took on Slovenia.

Cristiano Ronaldo and his Selecao team-mates survived an almighty scare to progress on penalties, with the likes of Diogo Costa and Pepe making history.

Here, we run through all the best Opta facts and stats from a thrilling day of action in Germany.

France 1-0 Belgium: Kante makes history as Bleus get lucky again

The first game of the day saw France edge out neighbours Belgium in a heavyweight clash, though Didier Deschamps' Bleus were far from their best once again.

Only a Jan Vertonghen own goal five minutes from time – forced by Randal Kolo Muani's wayward shot – secured their place in the quarter-finals, as their wait for an open-play goal at Euro 2024 went on.

Alongside Kylian Mbappe's penalty against Poland on matchday three, France have benefitted from two own goals – the other coming via Austria's Max Wober in a 1-0 win in their opening match.

There have now been five instances of a team winning 1-0 via an own goal at the Euros, with France accounting for three of them (versus Germany in 2020, and Austria and Belgium in 2024).

Aged 37 years and 68 days, former Tottenham centre-back Vertonghen became the oldest ever player to score an own goal at the European Championships.

Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku went close at the other end, but in truth, Belgium did not carve out many clear-cut chances.

They have now failed to score in five of their last six games at major international tournaments (European Championship and World Cup), despite having a combined 59 attempts on goal worth 6.85 expected goals (xG) across those matches.

France have now won all five of their major tournament meetings with Belgium (European Championship and World Cup), the joint-best 100% win rate any European nation has against another across those two competitions combined (also Italy versus Austria).

N'Golo Kante's recall to their midfield has been a major talking point at this tournament, and he won both of his tackles and created two chances in a typically tireless performance.

He has now played the most outright matches in European Championship history without ever losing (90 minutes only), winning seven and drawing five of his 12 games.

Portugal 0-0 Slovenia (aet, 3-0 pens): History for Costa and Pepe as Ronaldo's blushes spared

France will face Portugal for a semi-final place after the Selecao survived a monumental scare in their last-16 tie, beating Slovenia on penalties after a goalless draw in Frankfurt.

Much of the tie came down to a battle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Jan Oblak, former rivals in LaLiga with Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

Ronaldo had seven shots worth 1.33 expected goals (xG) in the 120 minutes but simply could not find a way through, breaking down in tears when he had an extra-time penalty repelled by Oblak, who made six saves.

Ronaldo has now taken nine penalties in major international tournament matches, failing to score on three occasions.

He has had 20 shots worth 2.7 xG overall at Euro 2024, the most attempts at the tournament and the fifth-most without netting at any edition of the competition, after Deco in 2004 (24), Fernando Hierro in 1996 (23), Kevin De Bruyne in 2016 and Dani Olmo at Euro 2020 (both 21).

However, he atoned in the shoot-out with an accurate first Portugal kick, then it was down to Diogo Costa to save all three of Slovenia's penalties and send his team through.

He made more saves in the shoot-out (three) than in the 120 minutes preceding it, though Portugal were also indebted to him for making a huge one-on-one stop from Benjamin Sesko in the second half of extra time.

He is the first goalkeeper to ever save three kicks in a European Championship shoot-out, and the first to not concede a single kick.

There was also a piece of history for Pepe, who became the oldest player to feature in a knockout-stage match at a World Cup or European Championship, doing so at the age of 41 years and 126 days to overtake England's Peter Shilton (40 years, 292 days at the 1990 World Cup).

Holders Portugal face the prospect of their Euro 2020 campaign ending at the group stage, with a positive result against Didier Deschamps' world champions on Wednesday their target to guarantee progress, although a narrow defeat could still see them progress as one of the four best third-placed teams.

The good work from an opening 3-0 win over Hungary was undone in a 4-2 defeat to Germany in Munich, when a usually obdurate Portugal defence was repeatedly undone as Joachim Low's 3-4-3 system granted his team numerical superiority in attack.

Left wing-back Robin Gosens tormented Portugal right-back Nelson Semedo and contributed an assist and a goal after half-time, as the Selecao became the first defending European champions to concede four goals in a single match at the competition.

However, it was the excitement that Atalanta player Gosens showed when Germany won corners that caught veteran centre-back Pepe's eye.

"Against Germany, I have a very clear picture in my mind. Whenever the left full-back got a corner, they were very happy," Pepe said.

"That shows how much they wanted to beat us. We have to want it as much as Germany did in order to make it through and achieve our goals.

"When we win we all win, when we lose we all lose. That's what makes us a very strong, cohesive group.

"We need to have our lines closer together, we need to support each other. Over the last few years we've shown what Portugal is like, we have good quality players and all work together."

Head coach Fernando Santos echoed Pepe's sentiments, acknowledging his side lacked their usual balance between attack and defence last time out.

"We did a thorough analysis of the game and looked at what we could have done better. I think we all reached a similar type of conclusion," Santos said. "It wasn't our usual type of game, it wasn't the Portuguese style.

"The crucial element in the game is to balance the team, it's not about the best or the worst. Every single team on Earth can be aggressive and supportive of one another.

"We know that France will play like this, We need to fight more, want it more and be more organised than they are.

"If we put our quality out there and they do, then it can swing either way. We need to be very focused and very strong in every area of the pitch and every moment of the game."

Santos pledged not to make wholesale changes, while acknowledging the quick turnaround in games and high temperatures in Budapest have had a sapping effect.

In terms of strategy, the veteran tactician stated it was important to right the wrong of his team's Munich missteps.

"As for changes, I could change every single player – I'm joking, of course! It's not about changing everyone," he added.

"We played four at the back and we were fully aware that we were under-manned. Against lower-ranked teams we can attack with more people and our midfielders play differently than the German midfielders.

"France play up front with three very mobile players. Benzema and Griezmann are very mobile players. In the last third we will have four against three, sometimes we will have four against four.

"We're focused. If we play a very intensive game, with the right kind of focus, play out from the back and make the opponent run, then I think we have a very good chance of winning."

The 41-year-old played 878 times for club and country, winning 34 trophies along the way, with much of his success coming during his time with Real Madrid. 

Having made his name with Porto, Pepe completed a move to the Bernabeu in 2007 and would go on to form one of the best defensive partnerships with Sergio Ramos. 

He would win 12 honours during his decade at the Bernabeu, including three Champions League titles, before moving to Besiktas. 

Pepe would spend a season in Turkey before returning to Porto, where he would make a further 132 appearances and add another nine honours to his trophy cabinet. 

The defender would also enjoy success on the international stage, featuring in all but one of Portugal's seven games in their Euro 2016 triumph. 

Pepe was capped 141 times for his country, third on the all-time list behind Joao Moutinho (146) and Cristiano Ronaldo (212). 

He played his final ever game in Portugal's penalty shootout defeat to France at Euro 2024, having become the oldest player to ever appear in a European Championship. 

In a video shared to Instagram, Pepe said: "I want to thank God for giving me the wisdom to be able to continue my journey.

"I can't help but thank all the presidents who bet on me and believed in me. All the employees of all the clubs I've been to, they are the soul and essence.

"And of the national team. All my teammates and coaches, who helped me grow and compete every day. All the fans, who are the soul of football.

"To Jorge Mendes, to GestiFute, to my mother, who was essential in my journey by letting me fly towards my dream, which was to be a professional footballer.

"To all my friends and family, especially my wife, who was my home in my absence.

"My children for believing in me, for being a fundamental support in my life, for supporting me when I left home to play. They were the support I needed to be able to go with a clear conscience.

"I would like to thank everyone, give them a big thank you and a big hug of gratitude. Thank you all very much."