Portugal beat hosts France 1-0 for maiden Euro title
Kathmandu | Substitute Eder's thunderous finish deep into extra time secured Portugal's first European Championship title after they overcame the early loss of Cristiano Ronaldo to snatch a 1-0 smash-and-grab victory over hosts France on Sunday.
Eder`s goal came after Andre-Pierre Gignac almost gave France victory in added time at the end of 90 minutes when he hit the post with a scuffed shot. Ronaldo went down under Dimitri Payet’s ninth-minute challenge and was twice forced off to receive treatment on the touchline.the three-time world player of the year returned a champion for the first time with his country.
"I had bad luck because I had a small injury in the beginning of the game, but my colleagues did their part — they run, they fight," said Ronaldo, who has already won every major club honor. "Nobody believed in Portugal but we won".
France's best chance of the night arrived in stoppage time when substitute Andre-Pierre Gignac turned his marker inside out before scuffing a shot past the keeper and against the post, with the ball bouncing across the face of goal and then out of harm's way. Even France forward Antoine Griezmann, the tournament's leading scorer, couldn't rise to the big occasion. There was no seventh goal of Euro 2016 from the Atletico Madrid forward, who also lost out in the Champions League final six weeks ago to Ronaldo's Real Madrid.
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