Substitute Eder’s thunderous finish deep into extra time secured Portugal’s first European Championship (Euro 2016) title after they overcame the early loss of Cristiano Ronaldo to snatch a 1-0 smash-and-grab victory over hosts France on Sunday.Eder chose the perfect time to score his first competitive goal in his country, attacking before firing off with a 25m bullet in the 109th minute.It was a cruel blow to France, in this Euro 2016, who dominated the match and wasted several chances in the face of their devastated domestic support, which arrived at the Stade de France hoping to celebrate a third European crown.
The trophy of Euro 2016 was lifted by Ronaldo, who burst into tears at the final whistle but whose game came to a frustrating end after 24 minutes when he was carried crying from the field on a stretcher with a knee injury.
Portugal beat France just as it reached this point in the tournament: crushing results and hoping for a moment of magic or a bit of luck to help them. Ronaldo used to be this magician, but it was pure defensive graft that guaranteed him and his colleagues the right to lift the Henri Delauney trophy. Their display in the final was just like all the previous ones.
It was not pretty, but Portugal had a game plan and executed it perfectly. For six games, they did it with one of the greatest players in history of all time and in the final they did it without him, following the same plan that had taken them so far. Ronaldo took them to the final of Euro 2016, and his teammates did what good colleagues do and returned the favor. Choose the best city tours in Portugal here
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