- Twelfth Man Times
The Euro 2016 tournament in France finally reached the finals stage, as Portugal faced off against the hosts at the Stade de France on Sunday. The two European sides had not played the best of football to get to this late stage in the competition, though the home team had looked much better out of the two. It was tough to choose a winner, though Fernando Santos’ side were termed as the underdogs, as they had lost 10 out of 10 games in the previous meetings between the two teams.
Good chances were rare to come by for either team, as they tried to take the lead and kept pushing forward at every possible chance that they got to do so. The first half saw both teams struggle for clear opportunities to score, though Frenchman Moussa Sissoko’s efforts were the highlights of the opening 45 minutes. Unfortunately, Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo picked up a serious knock to his knee, as he was involved in a strong challenge with Dimitri Payet, which saw him being replaced by Ricardo Quaresma on the 27th minute mark. Nani was given the arm-band by his former Manchester United team-mate, though there was no impact on the score-line.
After the restart, there were no more goals once again, with both keepers pulling off some crucial saves from time to time. Also, the 26 year old superstar impressed in the second period as well and forced Rui Patrício to make a great save, with the second half looking similar to the first. Skipper Nani was not up to the mark once again and the Newcastle United man was the only player worth watching in the tie. Amongst all the chances that came and went by, Andre-Pierre Gignac’s shot hit the inside of the post and popped out, which broke French hearts.
A golden chance was wasted, as the 90 minutes plus stoppage time could not produce an opening goal in the match, with the fans getting restless. Extra time started and Portugal knew that this was their territory now, as they had been winning some games beyond the 90. 10 minutes prior to the end of full time came on Lille’s 28 year old forward Eder, replacing youngster Renato Sanches.
The game went into extra time with the first 15 gone with the wind. Both sides knew that they were heading for a shootout, if they failed to score then.
Just when it seemed that there would be no goals in extra time as well, sub Eder produced a superb grounded shot from distance, which Spurs’ keeper Hugo Lloris had no answer for. The home side tried to equalize, though it did not matter. History had been made. Portugal were the champions of Europe for the first time.
The fans reacted on Twitter to this win, as Portugal were crowned the new champions of Europe:
I’m so happy right now
Congrats #Portugal #POR #Cristiano #CristianoRonaldo #EDER
love you Cris ! pic.twitter.com/azAEZOKasI— Marah (@Meme_skyscraper) July 10, 2016
We love #Portugal so here is our official statement. #POR #PORFRA #Eder #EURO2016 Well done! Enjoy this moment! pic.twitter.com/PvVjU7MR0D
— foodbashers (@foodbashers) July 10, 2016
#EURO2016 #champions !!! ♫ @Cristiano #RuiPatricio #eder !!! #POrtugal pic.twitter.com/xPrA1DauZt
— #FOLLOWTHEBEST (@ABRDJMEXICO) July 10, 2016
#EURO2016 #champions !!! ♫ @Cristiano #RuiPatricio #eder !!! #POrtugal pic.twitter.com/Dw8z8Rgv4X
— #FOLLOWTHEBEST (@ABRDJMEXICO) July 10, 2016
So proud of #Eder for #Portugal
— Andrew (@viperellis) July 10, 2016
#Portugal #Eder Really the thing I remember from this Euro 2016. I would have accepted a humble defeat, but this… pic.twitter.com/b9NQ7ywPml
— 3FrenchPanda (@3FrenchPanda) July 10, 2016
NEWS FLASH: HOST AND WIN DREAM SHATTERED: #EDER #WINS IT FOR #PORTUGAL https://t.co/g71g2rnRjw
— #AfricanWearParty (@Hushtag_gh) July 10, 2016
YAY! ??? #Portugal #EuropeanChamps ❤? @Cristiano #Eder #EURO2016
— Zak❤Shrads&Varun (@Zak_Shraddha) July 10, 2016
Yeeeees yesssss yeeeeeeeeees ✌?️????
Go Goooo #Portugal ???? #CR7 ❤️ #Eder ❤️
All #Players… https://t.co/CDtuev1IKN— Araz Haroutiounian (@arazkaizak) July 10, 2016
Im so proud ?? #vivaportugal #euro2016 #cristianoronaldo #portugal #champions #eder #nani #pepe… https://t.co/qEbmyOED9Y
— AmirTan (@amirradzuan) July 10, 2016
Hero #Eder #Portugal #EURO2016 #WINNER pic.twitter.com/Xs2ESNtNNb
— KelvinBossman (@kelvinbossman) July 10, 2016
#Portugal stun #France with late #Eder strike in #Euro final https://t.co/ltzFHPAQET#POR ⚽️? #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/AkDYE8fKcC
— Jaras Scoop FM (@jarasscoop) July 10, 2016
Looks like #Portugal scored the only two goals in extra time at this tournament. #Euro2016 #Eder
— Sule Sulizo Momoh (@plaga4real) July 10, 2016
#Eder goal for #Portugal in #Euro2016 Final ? https://t.co/P4uE4NUc3l
— #Euro2016 Champion (@Ahmed7xx) July 10, 2016
#Portugal #CristianoRonaldo– the Hero was badly injured#Portugal proved the world that it can win???#Eder u… https://t.co/EgYkb9TqF2
— deepakbarwal (@deepakbarwal1) July 10, 2016