Ronaldo-less Portugal beats France 1-0; wins Euro ’16

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

On Sunday, Portugal defeated France 1–0 and won the UEFA Euro 2016 in extra time. Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo was benched in the 25th minute after facing injury. Éder scored the winning goal for the Portuguese.

Before the kick-off, two-time Euro winner Xavi presented the trophy. Both Nani and Antoine Griezmann missed their shots on target early in the match. France had better ball possession. Ricardo Quaresma was substituted for Ronaldo in the 25th minute after Ronaldo was injured when Dimitri Payet bumped into him and Ronaldo had to be carried out on a stretcher. Nani wore the captain’s armband. Gurrerio’s shot was blocked in the 38h minute.

In the second half, Paul Pogba had a good chance to score but missed in the 54th minute. Kingsley Coman was brought in for Payet in the 58th minute. In the 75th minute, Olivier Giroud missed a chance to score from Coman’s assist. Renato Sanches was replaced by Éder in the 79th minute. As none of the sides could score a goal, the referee called extra time. This was the first final since 2000 to go into extra time which France won against their neighbours Italy 2–1.

In the second half of extra time, Éder scored from João Moutinho’s assist. The hosts were trailing with just eleven minutes to play. Though injured, Ronaldo was seen guiding the Portuguese players. The referee’s final whistle of the tournament ignited celebration of the Portuguese supporters. France had defeated Portugal in their last ten matches face to face.

Portuguese defender Pepe was awarded the Man of the Match. Portugal are the tenth different country to win the Euro tournament.

Bayern Munich signing Renato Sanches became the youngest player to play a Euro final. He will turn 19 next month. He won the SOCAR Young Player of the Tournament award as well. Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patrício hasn’t conceded a single goal in his last fourteen competitive games. Had France won the match, Munich’s midfielder Coman would have been the youngest player to win the Euro tournament. Antoine Griezmann won the Golden boot scoring six goals in the tournament, the all-time highest being nine goals by Michel Platini.

After the match, Griezmann said, “It’s cruel and magnificent at the same time. We’ve lived through some extraordinary moments, and the saddest moments as well. We have to learn. But tonight we gave it our all and we have no regrets. I’m proud of the squad, proud of everybody.”

After Ronaldo played his first Euro match aged 19 in 2004, Portugal finally won a Euro tournament under his captainship aged 31.