Portugal are champions of Europe 2016, after they beat France for the first time in 20 odd years on Sunday night.
All the odds were stacked against them as France was playing at home and they lost their star player, Cristiano Ronaldo early on in the final. France was by far the ‘in form’ team of the tournament while Portugal scraped the group rounds to make it to the knockouts. Nobody fancied the Portuguese to win. Ronaldo would have to be their saving grace but when they lost their talisman it seemed that a French victory was imminent. France came on strong in the first half and if it wasn’t for the acrobatic saves from Rui Patricio, France would’ve lead 3-0 in the first half.
Central Defender, Pepe held the defense together during the second half to keep the Frenchman at bay and pushed the game into extra time. With eleven minutes left on the clock, cometh the man cometh the hour Eder finally put one passed Hugo Lloris.
The most unlikely hero secured the win for Portugal.
Even though it was a fantastic goal, I still believe the French gifted Eder the chance. The French defense gave him way too much space.
It seems as though the defense dared him to shoot from that distance and angle, believing that he would never hit the target.
In the famous words of Vin Diesel in the Fast and the Furious, “It doesn’t matter whether you win by an inch or a mile, winning is winning.”
The French only have themselves to blame for their defeat. They weren’t clinical enough in front of the goal, while the Portuguese defence was as solid as a rock.
