Ronaldo came off injured during the first half, but his team claimed a 1-0 win over France in the final in Paris on Sunday.
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“This is a unique moment for me, for all the Portuguese people and it’s unforgettable”.
“We came close, really close”, said Griezmann, who has reached a totally new dimension this season, prompting Atletico coach Diego Simeone to say his disciplined and hard-working forward was among the top three players in the world.
A 33-year-old veteran who won his 77th cap in the final, Pepe was one of the standout players for Portugal.
“I’m very proud of what these players have achieved and we must not throw everything that we’ve done away, but we lost a great chance to be European champions: not the only one, perhaps, but a great one”. “We have an fantastic group”, he said. But thanks to Patricio’s array of saves and dogged defending, Ronaldo left a champion.
After the final whistle, Portugals fans held nothing back and celebrated like never before. Our skipper put in an enormous effort; he has incredible team spirit. We support each other on and off the pitch.
Few would have believed that substitute Eder would be the match victor, though, with his strike leaving Swansea fans rubbing their eyes in disbelief given his underwhelming time in Wales.
Coach Fernando Santos, whose side had won only one match inside 90 minutes out of seven at the tournament, hailed a perfectly executed tactical display. The ugly duckling scored! Now he’s a attractive swan. It’s cruel to lose the final like that.
“We represented Portugal, a lovely country of immigrants, and we represent every one of them”.
France’s best chance of the night arrived in stoppage time when substitute Andre-Pierre Gignac turned his marker inside out before scuffing a shot past the keeper and against the post, with the ball bouncing across the face of goal and then out of harm’s way.
We had opportunities to score, we played well enough in the build-up play, but there was no cutting edge.
“Even if we were a little bit exhausted as well, that’s not an excuse”.
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Only eight teams were eliminated at the end of the group stage and it appeared little coincidence that less-fancied nations favoured a more cautious approach, in the knowledge that finishing third gave them a decent chance of making it through to the knock-out stages. But unfortunately we lacked what was essential.
