Griezmann’s usual boyish looks were on display as ever but not the smile that normally goes with them when he collected his trophy for the top scorer in the tournament. We showed what we are made of: “tough, united, able to overcome all difficulties including the blow of losing Cristiano Ronaldo”, Rebelo de Sousa said.
Advertisement
Atletico Madrid man Griezmann, 25, for whom Sunday’s defeat was a second major final loss in a month after the loss to arch-rivals Real Madrid in the Champions League, also won the Golden Boot award for his six goals.
Despite leading Wales to a historic semi-final appearance at this summer’s showpiece in France, their talisman has been omitted from the chosen XI by UEFA.
Portugal full-back Cedric Soares revealed a stricken Cristiano Ronaldo issued a rallying call to his team-mates at half-time in the 1-0 Euro 2016 final win over France.
In the final, Portugal suffered a blow when their most risky player, Cristiano Ronaldo, was carried off on a stretcher during the first half.
Ronaldo’s replacement Ricardo Quaresma drew strength from French profligacy and Portugal appeared the more risky side in extra time before Eder’s emphatic breakthrough.
‘We have chosen dominant central defenders; full-backs who can defend and attack; deep-lying midfielders who can control the game and dynamic, flexible and creative attackers, all of whom have the ability to create and score goals. “We have an unbelievable group”, Santos said. “We said we would win it for him and we managed to do that”.
The 48-year-old, who had captained France to their 1998 World Cup victory on home soil and the Euro 2000 crown two years later, said: “I’m sad for my players”.
“In the end, we worked hard and we achieved it. We are very happy”.
Advertisement
“I’ve always told the players we’ve got great talent, but we need to fight more than our opponents, run more than them and be more focused than them”.
