According to Bangla Cricket Live, Portugal faced Slovenia at Deutsche Bank Park in a tense knockout match, where the score remained 0-0 through regular time. The game headed into extra time, and in the dying moments, drama unfolded. First, Portugal earned a penalty kick, but Jan Oblak brilliantly denied Cristiano Ronaldo’s effort. Minutes later, veteran defender Pepe slipped while carrying the ball, giving Slovenia’s Šeško a golden one-on-one opportunity.
That’s when Diogo Costa stepped up. The 24-year-old keeper made a crucial foot save to keep the match alive, forcing a penalty shootout. What happened next was nothing short of extraordinary. Costa denied Josip Iličić’s opening shot, then followed with two more saves against Balkovec and Verbič—completing a miraculous trio of stops. With this, Costa became the first goalkeeper in European Championship history to save three penalties in a single shootout. He was rightfully named Man of the Match.
Born on September 19, 1999, in Rothrist, Switzerland, to Portuguese parents, Costa moved to Santo Tirso at the age of seven. As a child, he played football with his cousin Vítor, idolizing Porto’s legendary goalkeeper Vítor Baía. That dream would eventually shape his future.
Costa joined FC Porto’s youth academy in 2011. On August 6, 2017, he made his first appearance for the senior team in a match against Gil Vicente. The following month, he was named Porto’s Best Young Player. Around that time, legendary goalkeeper Iker Casillas, then Porto’s starter, praised Costa as his natural successor. In April 2019, Costa helped Porto win the UEFA Youth League title by defeating Chelsea 3-1 in the final. Just days later, Casillas suffered a heart attack, and Costa was called up as a backup.
On September 25, 2019, Costa made his official first-team debut in a 1-0 win over Santa Clara. Weeks later, he earned his first appearance in Portugal’s top flight. By the season’s end, he had won both the league and domestic cup. At the start of the 2020/21 season, Costa took over the number 99 jersey—once worn by his idol Baía. Though still a backup that year, he made his UEFA Champions League debut in December 2020.
In 2021/22, Costa became Porto’s starting goalkeeper after an injury to Marchesín. He was named Primeira Liga’s Goalkeeper of the Month in September, and in October extended his contract until 2026, raising his release clause from €30 million to €60 million. He went on to keep eight clean sheets during a 16-match unbeaten run and was named Goalkeeper of the Month four times consecutively. That season, Porto won both the league and cup, and Costa was selected for the Team of the Year.
On October 12, 2022, Costa assisted Galeno’s goal and saved a penalty from Kerem Demirbay in a 3-0 Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen, becoming the first goalkeeper to register both a clean sheet and an assist in the same UCL game. His strong form helped Porto top their group and reach the Round of 16.
Despite Porto finishing third in the 2023/24 league season, Costa still managed 14 clean sheets. He represented Portugal at every youth level, starting in all matches of the 2016 U17 European Championship and finishing runner-up at the 2017 U19 tournament. In 2018, he won the U19 Euro title in Finland. In 2021, he helped Portugal reach the U21 Euro final, narrowly losing to Germany.
Costa received his first senior call-up in August 2021 for World Cup qualifiers and debuted in October with a 3-0 win over Qatar. He became Portugal’s first-choice keeper during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers and played in their opening match against Ghana, becoming the youngest Portuguese goalkeeper to feature in a major tournament. Though his error in the quarterfinals contributed to Portugal’s 1-0 exit to Morocco, he retained his starting role into the 2024 Euro qualifiers.
On September 11, 2023, Costa helped Portugal demolish Luxembourg 9-0—their biggest win in international history, according to Bangla Cricket Live. With his latest heroics, Diogo Costa has not only redeemed himself on the big stage but also written a historic new chapter in Portuguese football.