Portugal beat France to win Euro 2016
Portugal 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 off injured in the first half.
Former Swansea striker 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 on Sunday.
The sight of Portugal’s captain Ronaldo
in tears after being substituted with a knee injury after 25 minutes was
undoubtedly the key moment from a tame first half, 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, hitting the post through Ricardo Quaresma’s free-kick before
Eder’s stunning winner, his first competitive international goal.
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.
France went unchanged from the 2-0
semi-final win against Germany on Thursday, while Pepe came back into
the Portugal side for Bruno Alves, and William Carvalho replaced Danilo.
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