Ronaldo talks of relief after being, in emotional victory

Ronaldo talks of relief after being, in emotional victory. I thanked him [afterwards] for being the way he is, for caring for the group. I was certain that he would be the first penalty taker and show us the way to take victory. I think we’re all very proud of our captain. Our dressing room was all delighted. I think he gave us all a lesson. Life and football gives you difficult moments and the way he reacted shows why we are so proud in Portuguese football.

Roberto Martínez hails Cristiano Ronaldo resilience after penalty failur

Netherlands coach Ronald Kemon was asked at his press conference what he thought Johan Cruyff would have made of their defeat to Austria. I can’t decide whether that’s an ingenious question or a bit snide; probably the former.

It’s a difficult question. I know he liked attacking football very much, but I was a part of his team a long time and we had worse matches than we did against Austria. Of course, we are a proud nation; we like to win, we like to play nice football, but it’s not always happened. We take the critics, no problem, and we’d like to turn it around and make people happy for the final result.

Roberto Martinez on Cristiano Ronaldo

Randal Kolo Muani played a big part in France’s winning goal against Belgium. Here’s Barney Ronay on our old friends, sport and politics.

Most obviously the presence of successful and highly visible players such as Kolo Muani in this France team represents, in outline, something that is not National Rally, the immigration-fixated hard-right party that took the single largest share in the overnight parliamentary elections.

RN wants tougher controls on citizenship. RN wants to reduce access to certain jobs for people it sees as insufficiently French. Kolo Muani’s parents were born in Kinshasa. He holds dual nationality. He embodies, along with his teammates, a happy, functional tableau of people from a deep cut of French society.