Portugal have won Euro 2016 after Eder’s superb extra-time strike gave them a 1-0 victory over hosts France in Paris, despite Cristiano Ronaldo coming injured in the first half.
Substitute Eder, who came on as a late second-half replacement for Renato Sanches, struck low into the bottom corner past Hugo Lloris from 25 yards to hand Portugal their first-ever major tournament crown in dramatic fashion.
The sight of Portugal’s captain Cristiano Ronaldo in tears after being substituted with a knee injury was undoubtedly the key moment from a tame first half in Paris, though the majority of half-chances fell to France.
In the second half, unmarked Antoine Griezmann’s glancing header went just over the bar from close range, before substitute Andre-Pierre Gignac hit the post in stoppage time.
Portugal had the better chances in extra-time before Eder’s stunning winner, and the victory also means Fernando Santos’ side ended a 41-year winless streak against the French, which included the infamous 1984 European Championship semi-final defeat in Marseille.
Portugal had the first half-chance of the game, new Valencia signing Nani striking over the bar from the right corner of the area with a first-time half volley after Cedric Soares’ searching ball from deep.
Tournament top scorer Griezmann’s instinctive header inside the area looped towards the top corner moments later, only for Rui Patricio to acrobatically tip wide, before disaster struck for Ronaldo.
Portugal manager Fernando Santos replaced Ronaldo with Ricardo Quaresma, but his side looked conservative for the remainder of the first half as France pushed for the opener.
Newcastle midfielder Moussa Sissoko, France’s brightest player in the first half, turned wonderfully in the area to gain a yard on Adrien Silva, but his fierce effort from 12 yards was beaten away by Patricio.
The early stages of the second half continued in a similar fashion as France dominated possession while failing to create any clear-cut chances, forcing Didier Deschamps to replace Payet with winger Kingsley Coman.
Griezmann came close with 25 minutes remaining, heading over from six yards after Coman’s superb cross from the left, an opportunity that looked tailor-made for the Atletico Madrid man having scored two headers previously in the tournament.
Coman then fed the ball through to Olivier Giroud to shoot from a tight angle from the left of the area, but Patricio was equal to it, parrying it across goal and clear.
At the other end, Lloris’ unnecessary acrobatic punch clear from Nani’s mis-hit cross put France in danger, but the Tottenham goalkeeper was able to catch Joao Mario’s rebound from an overhead kick.
Only one goal had been scored in the previous four periods of extra-time in the tournament, but Eder did his best to buck the trend in the first-half, powering a header towards goal from Quaresma’s corner, only for Lloris to beat clear.
Leave a Reply