Portugal's progress in Euro 2016 has been resented by purists everywhere, bored by their pedestrian football and alienated by their bratty, obnoxious superstar.
On top of that, everyone is deriding them for having the cheek to reach the semi-finals without winning a match in ninety minutes.
This is a step too far.
Put simply, it takes some cheek for Irish fans to mock Portugal for this achievement considering our finest hour consisted of reaching the quarter-finals of a tournament without winning a match in 120 minutes.
Listen to the Racket here:
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There is an even more stunning examples of this phenomenon. Paraguay's nose for a stalemate and their sureness from the penalty spot carried them all the way to the Copa America Final in 2011. They drew all three group games, squeezing into the quarters as one of the two best third place sides.
They played three knockout rounds without scoring a goal, save for the two penalty shootouts en route to the final. In the quarters, they drew 0-0 with Brazil after 120 minutes. Brazil's determination to avoid scoring a goal carried into the shootout itself as they missed four penalties from four.
In the semi-final, Paraguay beat Argentina 5-3 on pens following a 0-0 draw. Their luck ran out in the final as Uruguay demolished them 3-0 in the final.
Ladbrokes Bet of the Day
We have tossed caution to the four winds today as we have backed Portugal to win the tournament - without winning a game in 90 minutes. The odds on this special are at an enticing 16/1. We have staked a tenner on the possibility.
