Euro 2016 Final Portugal vs France: Football threw up another unlikely hero on Sunday when journeyman professional Eder scored the goal that won Euro 2016 for Portugal and that too with Cristiano Ronaldo missing from the pitch after around the 24th minute – read below a revelation he made.

Coach Fernando Santos said the “ugly duckling has become beautiful” after Eder, jeered by Portugal fans during a game in March, fired in a long-range goal 11 minutes from the end of extra-time to give Portugal an unexpected 1-0 win.

 


 

Cristiano Ronaldo has dominated the Portuguese team for the last decade but, after the three-times world player of the year limped off injured, it was the 28-year-old Eder, born in Guinea-Bissau, who stole the headlines.

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo was taken off injured after 24 minutes of the European Championship final against France on Sunday and yet despite that huge setback, the team defended strongly and ultimately pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament by beating hosts France 1-0.

Ronaldo, who tried to play on with a bandaged knee after a tackle by Dimitri Payet in the early stages of the game, was replaced by Ricardo Quaresma, who himself had a great game, coming close to scoring on at least one occasion:

Read full story: Portugal stun host France to win cup despite Ronaldo injury

See Photos: Portugal beat France 1-0.

EUROSPEAK

1. “It was not the final I wanted but I am very happy. It is a trophy for all Portuguese, for all immigrants, all the people who believed in us so I am very happy and very proud,” said Cristiano Ronaldo.

 

2. “He (Ronaldo) told me I was going to score the winning goal,” said Eder who plays for French side Lille and only went on in the 79th minute. “He gave me strength and positive energy.”

 

3. “The disappointment is there and it’s immense,” French coach Didier Deschamps said. “We’ve let a big chance to be champions pass us by.”

 

4. Central Lisbon was taken over by dancing fans, faces painted red, green and yellow and waving national flags after Portugal’s stunning win over France in the Euro 2016 final. Tens of thousands of screaming supporters flooded the streets to celebrate Portugal’s 1-0 victory — the country’s first international title delivered even as superstar Cristiano Ronaldo watched injured from the touchline. “Champions, we are the champions of Europe!” crowds chanted in a fan zone in Lisbon.

 

5. “Words fail me. We deserved it. We finally silenced the French and everyone who spoke ill of us. We proved that we are stronger,” said 22-year-old Ruben Sardinha, a Portuguese flag tied around his neck. Fellow fan Carla Martins, with tears in her eyes, said she didn’t doubt her team for a second. “Portugal! Portugal!” she screamed before losing her voice. “I believed in us right until the end. We deserved it!”.

 


03.01 am (IST)

Time’s up! Portugal beat France 1-0, are crowned Champions of Europe! Result from the European Championship Final match on Sunday  Final Sunday, July 10 Portugal – France 1-0 (halftime: 0-0, 90 mins: 0-0)

 

 


02.48 a.m. (IST)

Eder scores in 109th minute. Stays strong despite challenge and smashes one into the left corner of net away from reach of French goalkepeer’s despairing dive.

Eder has finally broken the deadlock, giving Portugal a 1-0 lead over France when he cut inside from the left, brushed off a challenge by Laurent Koscielny and fired a low shot into the bottom corner from 20 meters.

Injured teammate Cristiano Ronaldo came off the Portugal bench to congratulate the Lille midfielder.

Euro 2016 Final Portugal vs France; Substitute Eder scored in extra-time to give Portugal a 1-0 win over hosts France in the Euro 2016 final on Sunday as they secured their first major international title despite losing captain and talisman Cristiano Ronaldo to injury. (Image: Twitter)

02.42 a.m. (IST)

Barring a couple of great chances for both teams to score, the battle of attrition continues. Both teams locked 0-0 even after first half of extra time over.

02.22 a.m. (IST)

Regulation time ends 0-0; teams set for extra 30 min.

France has squandered two gilt-edged chances in the second half of its European Championship final against Portugal.

Tournament top scorer Antoine Griezmann missed probably the clearest chance of the final in the 66th minute when he shook off defender Raphael Guerreiro in the penalty area and leapt to meet a cross from the left by Kingsley Coman, but could not keep his header down and saw it fly over the bar.

A few minutes later, Olivier Giroud then saw his powerful shot saved by Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio, who is on outstanding form.

01.58 a.m. (IST)

 

01.45 a.m. (IST):

France dominant, but Portugal managing to keep a clean sheet. Best try by France fell to Griezmann but his header sailed just inches from goal.

01.30 a.m. (IST)

01:20 a.m: And, it’s half-time at Euro 2016 final; France 0-0 Portugal.

 


After Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo was carried off on a stretcher in the 25th minute of the European Championship final, France and Portugal were drawing 0-0 at halftime.

Ronaldo injured his left knee after France midfielder Dimitri Payet clattered into him near the halfway line in the seventh minute. After treatment, the Real Madrid star tried to play on, but even with his knee bandaged he eventually sat down and called to be substituted.

France dominated early and Antoine Griezmann came close to adding to his tournament-leading six goals with a looping header that Rui Patricio athletically tipped over his bar.

France midfielder Moussa Sissoko was a constant threat with powerful runs from the midfield. He came close to breaking the deadlock in the 34th minute when he cleverly turned Portugal defender Adrien Silva and shot powerfully, but Rui Patricio got down well to his right to block the effort.

 

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01:15 a.m.

Paris police report there have been clashes with young troublemakers underneath the Eiffel Tower and that police have used tear gas to disperse them.

The clashes happened about 100 meters from a huge fan zone and giant screen relaying the final of the European Championship between France and Portugal.

 

There only appeared to be a few dozen troublemakers, who seemed to want to break into the fan zone, which contains about 80,000 people watching the game.

Some garbage was set alight in the street under the massive tower, which dominates the Paris landscape.

01:01 a.m.

00.56 a.m.: Sad end to sensational tournament, Ronaldo leaves pitch injured in tears; replaced by Quaresma

00.45 a.m. : Christiano Ronaldo injured, may have to leave pitch

 

 

Euro 2016 Final: A teary-eyed Cristiano Ronaldo just ahead of being substituted after suffering a knee injury early in the match against France. (Twitter photo)

00.30 a.m. (IST)

Referee blows for kick-off.

00.25 a.m. (IST)

Both the teams’ players shake hands.

00.20 a.m. (IST)

Portugal and French teams run onto the pitch after ceremony concludes. Respective teams’ national anthems were played ahead of kick-off.

00.15 a.m. (IST)

French DJ, David Guetta performed his tournament anthem ‘This One’s For You’ along with Swedish singer Zara Larsson and 600 choreographed dancers added to the spectacle.

 

11:30 p.m. (IST)

Clouds of moths in the Stade de France are bugging players and officials ahead of the final.

In 28-degree (82 Fahrenheit) heat in the stadium, the moths are at field level and dozens of birds are circling about the roof.

Referee Mark Clattenburg of England was seen swiping at the moths as he tested the goal-line technology equipment at each end of the pitch before the France vs. Portugal game.

France coach Didier Deschamps stayed on the field only briefly with members of his staff 90 minutes before the kickoff

Members of UEFA’s executive committee, including former Croatia forward Davor Suker, were also flapping their hands at the insects as they posed for a team photograph near the entrance to the players’ tunnel.

Stadium staff with vacuum cleaners were gathering up moths in each of the technical areas in front of the dugouts.

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11:15 p.m. (IST) p.m.

Key central defender Pepe and holding midfielder William Carvalho return to the Portugal side to face France.

Pepe sat out the semifinal against Wales with a thigh muscle injury, while Carvalho missed it through suspension. Pepe replaces Bruno Alves, while Carvalho comes in for Danilo in a 4-1-3-2 and will sit in front of the back four.

Cristiano Ronaldo spearheads the attack.

France coach Didier Deschamps has kept the same side that beat Germany 2-0 in the semifinals.

Moussa Sissoko lines up on the right of midfield in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with the tournament’s six-goal top scorer Antoine Griezmann playing just behind center forward Olivier Giroud.

Attacking midfielder Dimitri Payet keeps his place wide left, despite a poor game against Germany, while Paul Pogba and Blaise Matuidi will anchor the central midfield.

Center half Samuel Umtiti makes just his third international appearance and lines up alongside Laurent Koscielny.

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10:30 p.m. (IST) p.m.

Here are the lineups for the final between Portugal and France at Stade de France:

Portugal: Rui Patricio, Cedric Soares, Jose Fonte, Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro, William Carvalho, Joao Mario, Renato Sanches, Adrien Silva, Nani, Cristiano Ronaldo.

France: Hugo Lloris, Bacary Sagna, Samuel Umtiti, Laurent Koscielny, Patrice Evra, Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi, Moussa Sissoko, Antoine Griezmann, Dimitri Payet, Olivier Giroud.

 

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10:10 p.m. (IST) p.m.

The state presidents and prime ministers of France and Portugal are set to watch their teams play at the final.

France President Francois Hollande has been a regular visitor, wearing his team scarf, in the VIP seats at Euro 2016.

Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls head the French government delegation on UEFA’s published list of guests expected at Stade de France.

Portugal President Marcelo Rebelo da Sousa and Prime Minister Antonio Costa should lead its government delegation.

Other government leaders scheduled to attend are South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma and Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary.

Sports leaders include FIFA’s president and secretary general, Gianni Infantino and Fatma Samoura, and International Olympic Committee member Prince Albert of Monaco.

Football greats Luis Figo of Portugal and Ruud Gullit, captain of the winning Netherlands team at Euro 1988, were mingling at a UEFA-designated hotel near the Eiffel Tower on Sunday.

 


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10:00 p.m. (IST) p.m.

Mark Clattenburg, who will referee the final, has paid tribute to the behavior of players at the tournament, saying their desire “to get on with the game” has made matches more entertaining and easier to referee.

“There have been a lot of positive comments across the footballing world about the standard of refereeing at the final tournament,” Clattenburg said in an interview with UEFA’s website. “There’s always room for improvement, but the behavior of the players has been fantastic – on the whole, the players have just got on with the match.”

Clattenburg said advance contact with teams had paid dividends. “There’s been no dissent, no mobbing of the referee. It’s been a wonderful sight to see.”

He said UEFA’s Referees Committee had sent match officials to see each team before the tournament, listening to them and explaining what would happen during games.

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9:30 p.m. (IST) p.m.

The gates have opened at the Stade de France and the first French and Portuguese fans are trickling into the stadium with less than three hours to kick-off in the European Championship final.

One France fan quickly went to the French end of the stadium and began waving a giant red, white and blue tricolor flag as ground staff turned on sprinklers to wet the pitch after a day of hot temperatures in and around Paris.

France is looking to make it four wins out of five major tournament finals, after winning the European title in 1984 and 2000 and the World Cup in 1998. Portugal is still looking for its first major tournament win.

Pedro Pinto, a 49-year-old Portugal fan who lives in France said, “This is my dream final – the country of my birth against the country where I have made my home.”

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9:15 p.m. (IST) p.m.

France or Portugal will top the European Championship prize money table with at least 25 million euros ($27.6 million) from UEFA.

UEFA created a prize fund of 301 million euros ($333 million) for football federations from the 24 competing countries.

All get a basic 8 million euros ($8.8 million), plus results bonuses from group-stage games _ 1 million euros ($1.1 million) for a win and 500,000 euros ($550,000) for a draw _ then payments on a rising scale for each knockout round.

France has already earned 18.5 million euros ($20.4 million) and can add 8 million euros ($8.8 million) more for winning the final on Sunday. The runner-up gets 5 million euros ($5.5 million) more.

Portugal currently has 17.5 million euros ($19.3 million).

Players should get bonuses totaling several millions from the prize money.

Germany _ which got $35 million from FIFA for winning the 2014 World Cup _ added 18.5 million euros ($20.5 million) from UEFA for reaching the semifinals.

Euro 2016 surprise teams Wales and Iceland go home with, respectively, 18 million euros ($19.9 million) and 14 million euros ($15.5 million).

Ukraine, the only team to lose all three group games, received the least amount of 8 million euros ($8.8 million).

 


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9:00 p.m. (IST) p.m.

France and Portugal come to the European Championship final at very different paces.

Portugal has taken four fewer days than France _ 27 compared to 31 _ to line up its seventh match at Euro 2016.

Portugal and Iceland were the last teams to kick off, on Tuesday, June 14 in Saint-Etienne, while France had been resting since opening the tournament on Friday, June 10 at the Stade de France against Romania.

Still, the schedule made both teams play one game on just two full days of rest.

Portugal’s round of 16 game against Croatia was on a Saturday after a Wednesday group-stage game against Hungary.

 


UEFA’s competitions director, Giorgio Marchetti, acknowledged that the transition from group games to the round of 16 _ affecting third-place teams like Portugal _ was the least-liked feature of the 24-team format.

France is playing Sunday’s final less than 72 hours after completing a semifinal win against world champion Germany.