But he returned to the touchline in extra time to see substitute Eder net an 109th-minute goal that earned Portugal a 1-0 victory and a first major tournament success.
Advertisement
“They trust me and I have worked hard to contribute and today it was possible”.
“I understood that Eder was the player who had to come on to hold up the ball in attack and create problems for France in the air”, Santos said. “It was a very intense game”, added Pepe, who won the Champions League alongside Ronaldo with Madrid in May. We only saw him from the quarter-finals on.
CRISTIANO RONALDO IS one of four Portugal players to have been named in the official Euro 2016 team of the tournament, but Real Madrid team-mate Gareth Bale has missed out.
Asked whether Ronaldo was downbeat after having to go off, Soares said: “No, he was fantastic”.
Dimitri Payet has been speaking about the challenge that forced Cristiano Ronaldo out of the Euro 2016 final.
The Portugal captain once again broke down as he had to be stretchered off the field.
Hosts France dominated the game, as they had almost every match since the start.
But they could not break down a Portuguese defence in which man-of-the-match Pepe was majestic and goalkeeper Rui Patricio produced a string of dramatic saves.
The 25-year-old was the tournament’s top scorer with six goals – more than any player at one European Championship since Michel Platini hit nine in France’s 1984-winning campaign on home soil.
His tightly strapped leg did not stop him hobbling up the steps at the Stade de France to lift the trophy and he was bursting with pride as he showed off the prize.
Advertisement
While France’s defeat crushed the dreams of a nation, it at least had the merit not to be accompanied by the player controversies that have plagued the team in past tournaments.
