Diogo Dalot Portugal

Dalot reaches Under-21 Euros semi-final

Wednesday 02 June 2021 09:43

Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot has progressed to the semi-finals of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship with Portugal.

The full-back, who spent the 2020/21 season on loan with Milan, played the full 120 minutes on the right side of a back four for Portugal who overcame Italy 5-3 after extra-time at Stožice Sports Park in Slovenia on Monday evening.

Having been all-square at 3-3 after the regulation period, strikes from João Filipe and Francisco Conceição in the second half of extra time were enough for Dalot and co to overcome their 10-man opponents to reach the last-four where they will now face Spain on Thursday at 20:00 BST.

Should they progress to Sunday's final, also being staged at Stožice Sports Park, Portugal will face the winners of the other semi-final between the Netherlands and Germany, 

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Dalot is part of the 23-man Portugal squad for the knockout stage that is currently being contested in joint-host countries Hungary and Slovenia.

The tournament, originally scheduled for last summer but moved back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, kicked-off just over two months ago when the group stage was played during the March international break.

The defender played every minute of the youngsters’ group campaign, as they topped Group D with maximum points from their games against Croatia, England and Switzerland without conceding to book their place in this summer’s knockout stage.

Monday’s quarter-final victory over Italy now means they have made into the last four of a tournament they are yet to win. They reached the final in 2015 but lost on penalties to Sweden, for whom Victor Lindelof was among the scorers in the shoot-out. 

Dalot shared his delight at the victory via an Instagram post. 

“Marching together,” the caption read alongside an emoji of his national flag.

“Fantastic support from the Portuguese in the stands.”

The defender made a total of 34 appearances during his season-long loan with Milan in 2020/21, helping the Rossoneri to qualify for the Champions League with a second-place finish behind city rivals Inter in Serie A.

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