The strike was shortlisted along with Xherdan Shaqiri’s scissor kick for Switzerland against Poland, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s audacious backheel finish for the eventual champions against Hungary.
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“We weren’t cool-headed enough, but I can’t hold anything against my players. Griezmann on the other hand was dropped for the second game”.
Portugal captain Ronaldo scored three goals and supplied three assists to help Fernando Santos’ side claim their country’s first major global trophy.
Griezmann and midfield schemer Dimitri Payet were included in the UEFA team of the tournament named Monday, as was Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo, who was stretchered off injured and in tears after a crunching tackle by Payet.
This is the heartwarming moment a tearful French football fan was consoled by a young Portugal fan.
“It was tough because we lost our main man and we had all our hopes pinned on him because he’s a player who can score a goal at any minute”, Portugal defender Pepe said. “I will commemorate them with the Order of Merit of Commanders – that is a decree that has never been given to the national team”, he told broadcaster RTP.
It all started within the opening 25 minutes of the match when the Real Madrid star collapsed to the ground with a significant knee injury.
In what has been a happy three months for the Portugal captain, the three-time Ballon d’Or victor ranked Sunday’s win among the top moments of his ultra-successful career.
The Real Madrid superstar lifted his dispirited team-mates and inspired them to their first ever European Championship success as they beat hosts France 1-0 in the final on Sunday night.
“It’s something unbelievable in my career”, Ronaldo said.
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“This time we didn’t manage it, unlike against Germany. And I did it. Thank God, things went well for us”.
