A goal of Eder at the 110th minute allows the Selecção erase the traumatic memory of the Euro 2004 final lost at home against Greece.
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In the meantime I’m off to watch the replay, while sipping a poncha maracuja and enjoying a pastel de nata. “It is a trophy for all the Portuguese, for all immigrants, all the people who believed in us, so I am very happy and very proud”.
But what I do know is this was a moment in history that Portuguese people everywhere will remember forever.
France forward Dimitri Payet finished Euro 2016 on top of UEFA’s Player Barometer, ahead of teammate Antoine Griezmann and Wales’ Gareth Bale.
A major global tournament victory was one of the only trinkets missing from the trophy cabinet of Ronaldo, the 31-year-old Real Madrid superstar who is also a team-mate of Pepe’s at club level.
“I’m not going to think about myself tonight”.
“This is cruel and we will all need time to get over it”.
“They have quality and ability, along with our coach’s strategy to win”.
France coach Didier Deschamps was as crestfallen as the fans and his players, having failed to make home advantage count like the teams of 1984 and 1998. Of course, the overriding emotion is huge disappointment.
As they say (sort of), you wait ages for a bus and then you lose the final of Euro 2016.
“Clearly we had our chances and had the last opportunity (of normal time) with Andre-Pierre Gignac striking the post in stoppage time”.
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“We weren’t clinical enough, we weren’t cool-headed enough”. But unfortunately we lacked what was essential.
