Euro'2024 has once again entered a 'period of reflection'. After the last two quarter-final games, which saw the passage of England and the Netherlands and the elimination of Switzerland and Turkey, fans of the tournament will have to wait a few days to experience the emotions of the best European football again.
This Sunday, in Portugal, there continued to be talk about what the quinas team did on the field, with particular emphasis on João Félix. The Portuguese forward missed the decisive penalty against France and thus put an end to his participation in the tournament, an unfortunate moment that continues to be difficult for some people to forgive.
On social media, for example, a video went viral in which a life-size doll of the former Benfica player had... his 'head' ripped off. The images shocked Spain, where Félix has worked in recent seasons, and the sports press in this country 'echoed' what was being said.
Contrasting with the criticisms of many is the protection of so many others. During the day, several people linked to the world of football left messages in defense of João Félix, such as Pablo Gaví, with whom João Félix shared a dressing room at Barcelona last season. "Always with you, brother", wrote the Catalans star.
João Cancelo and Rafael Leão, both Félix's teammates on the national team, left messages of support on social media. If the first shared a photo of the striker with the phrase "always with you, my kid", the second chose to add the word "together".
Rui Vitória, former Benfica coach, also came out in defense of the athlete who is under all the attention. "It is essential that the support is total, that we don't even talk much about João Félix, because he represented around 10 million Portuguese people, he represented a team", he noted, speaking to journalists at Ibercup.
Also in Portuguese, Artur Soares Dias spoke about his participation in Euro'2024. The only Portuguese referee to judge the tournament compared the European championship to 'Big Brother': "There are appointments in everything. I was appointed to leave too, there are appointments for games and to leave. I got three appointments to stay and one to come away."
The competition returns to the pitch on Tuesday, with Spain and France in a duel for a place in the final. A day later, the Netherlands and England do exactly the same.
