Match winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, hailed his Portuguese teammates’ character, after they booked their place in the semi-finals with a 1-0 win against a stubborn Czech Republic side.

Despite dominating for much of the game, the Portuguese failed to find a way past Petr Cech in the opposing goal; he stopped everything that came his way for nearly 80 minutes, occasionally with the help of his woodwork.

Ronaldo proved to be the deciding factor in the game, however, heading home a 79th minute winner to send his side into the final-four.

The Real Madrid star followed up from his brace against Holland in Portugal’s final group game with his third goal of the tournament, finding space in the area to smash home an unstoppable header.

It had looked as though Ronaldo would be left frustrated, hitting the post twice and seeing other efforts repelled by Cech. The former Manchester United forward proved his excellent ability, though, stepping up to the plate when his side needed him, and leading his team into the semi-finals.

There are many on Bet365 who believe that the 27-year-old could single handily drag this Portuguese side to the title, but Ronaldo was quick to pour praise on his team-mates for their display against the Czech Republic, insisting that the performance had proven Portugal have the battling spirit to win.

"I thought we played very well and created many chances. We hit the post twice but it was important to get through to the semi-finals. It was a very difficult game but we did very well. I think everyone was fantastic on the pitch, so we're satisfied with the result.

"We are happy for that, and we know it's going to be difficult in our next match but we are ready, we are confident, the team is very mature, so we are ready for the fight.”

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