At 18 years and 328 days he became the youngest player to play in the final and its youngest victor after Portugal won 1-0 after extra-time against France. Similarly, the most talked about players in Portugal were again Ronaldo (44%), Ricardo Quaresma (10%), Pepe (6%), Eder (5%) and Dimitri Payet (5%).
Advertisement
Ronaldo didn’t have a say in the outcome of the final against France as he was stretchered off tears after just 25 minutes, but he has taken centre stage in the team’s celebrations.
After so many near-misses, Portugal finally holds an worldwide trophy, and the country is determined to enjoy the moment, welcoming the victorious Euro 2016 team back to Lisbon in spectacular fashion. They always give man of the match to the player who scored, too.
With 109 minutes gone, Eder beat off a challenge by Laurent Koscielny to fire a shot from outside the penalty area that France captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris could not even get a hand to.
“I like Griezmann a lot, but he was not the player of the tournament”.
Win or lose, though, we’re all fans of the lovely game, and if two opposing soccer fans can put aside their differences to share a handsome moment, your faith in humanity should be a bit stronger today.
It’s been an unforgettable last 48 hours for Ronaldo, who saw his Euro 2016 final end prematurely before tempered by the fact his team-mates prevailed to win it in his absence.
Portugal won over hosts France on Sunday which gave them their first ever success at a major global tournament. I think all the team had a fantastic attitude. “Portugal demonstrated tremendous team spirit and resilience today to achieve victory in spite of the loss of their captain Cristiano Ronaldo”. I asked God to give me another chance.
Advertisement
However, he described France’s luck as “cruel”, adding: “One can always argue about the way they play, but they are efficient and you must congratulate them”.
