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Tuesday, 12 July 2016 00:59 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Reuters: Portugal erupted into jubilation on Sunday as the country defeated France to win the Euro 2016, its first major international soccer championship.
“It’s crazy,” said Lucas Anagua, 17, a fan in the crowds at Praca do Comercio, the main square in Lisbon where the game had been shown on huge screens. “I’m going to party tonight.”
Fireworks and music broke out across the capital, where the game, won 1-0 by Portugal, had been shown on television screens on a blistering hot summer night.
Substitute Eder secured the win with a goal in extra time.
“I maintained the faith,” President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa told RTP television. “We were able to put up with everything. This was Portugal at its best.”
Cars beeped their horns and thousands of people filled the streets, donning the Portuguese flag and shouting “Portugal, Portugal, Portugal.”
“This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen,” said another fan.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with team mates and the trophy after winning Euro 2016. REUTERS
The win helped make up for Portugal’s loss to underdog Greece when it hosted the Euro 12 years ago. The country’s last major soccer conquest was in 2006, when Portugal finished fourth in the World Cup.
“The victory for the national side is recognition of the value of Portuguese soccer and gives prestige to our country,” said the Portuguese Football Association in a statement.
For a country that suffered hard under Europe’s debt crisis but is now recovering economically under its new Socialist government, the victory will be a welcome relief.
The victory was especially sweet because captain Cristiano Ronaldo was forced to leave the game after suffering an injury in the first half, leaving Portugal’s team without its star.
Portugal found an unlikely hero as Eder’s thunderous finish deep into extra time secured their first European Championship title after they overcame the early loss of Cristiano Ronaldo to snatch a 1-0 victory over hosts France on Sunday.
The substitute picked the perfect time to score his first competitive goal for his country, marauding forward before letting fly with a bullet shot from 25 metres in the 109th minute.
It was a magic moment for the 28-year-old who plays for French club Lille and delivered a devastating knockout blow to decide a tight and cagey encounter.
“It was amazing,” the striker told reporters. “We fought with immense strength, we were amazing. I think we deserve this title due to the work we put in, all the players and the staff.”
It was a cruel outcome for Didier Deschamps’ side, who had dominated the match and squandered a number of chances, in front of their devastated home support, who arrived at the Stade de France hoping to celebrate a third European crown.
The trophy was lifted triumphantly by Ronaldo, who broke down in tears at the final whistle after his own game had come to a frustrating end with 24 minutes on the clock when he cried as he was carried off the pitch on a stretcher with a knee injury.
So much of the build-up had focused on Ronaldo and his hopes of crowning a glittering career with the only achievement missing from his CV, a piece of international silverware.
The script had been written for him to produce a performance to match his status as one of the game’s truly great talents, but he had to settle for a back-stage role after Dimitri Payet’s challenge left him in a heap on the floor.
It was not how he would have envisaged his evening panning out, but having been part of the Portugal side that were stunned in the final as hosts by Greece in 2004, he celebrated wildly with his team mates as ticker tape rained down from the rafters.
For France it was a debilitating defeat after they had come into the match as heavy favourites and hoping to lift the spirits of a nation still recovering from last November’s attacks in Paris.
“We missed a chance, maybe not a unique chance, but a great chance to become European champions,” Deschamps said.
“Our disappointment is immense and will take time to digest. We won together, we suffered together and we lost together. It would have been magnificent to offer this trophy to our supporters, here at home.”
Portugal’s Eder lifts the trophy after winning the Euro 2016. REUTERS
Reuters: Losing a final to Cristiano Ronaldo has become an unfortunate habit for Antoine Griezmann and he is not happy about it.
The France forward missed a penalty for Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final in May and his team went on to lose on penalties to city rivals Real with Ronaldo sealing the shootout win.
“I’ve just lost my second final in just over a month and it sucks,” Griezmann told reporters after Les Bleus lost 1-0 in extra-time to Ronaldo’s Portugal in the European Championship final on Sunday.
Griezmann’s usual boyish looks were on display as ever but not the smile that normally goes with them when he collected his trophy for the top scorer in the tournament.
The speedy 25-year-old netted six goals in the finals -- more than any player at one European Championship since Michel Platini hit nine in France’s 1984-winning campaign on home soil.
“We came close, really close,” said Griezmann, who has reached a totally new dimension this season, prompting Atletico coach Diego Simeone to say his disciplined and hard-working forward was among the top three players in the world.
“Portugal did not create many chances but they were smart,” he added.
“It’s frustrating. I’m proud of our group and of what we have achieved but this was simply not our night.”
France coach Didier Deschamps, who helped Griezmann shine at the tournament by moving him closer to Olivier Giroud up front, offered sympathy.
“Antoine is a great player and we owe him a lot,” Deschamps said.
“Maybe he was not clinical or fresh enough tonight but I can’t reproach him and there will be better days for him, I’m sure”.
