Eder’s powerful strike avenged the ghosts of 2004 as a resilient Portugal stunned host nation France to lift an inaugural European Championship at the Stade de France.
Portugal’s ambitions of claiming an elusive international title were dealt a monumental blow when Cristiano Ronaldo was forced off the field on a stretcher with a knee injury on 25 minutes.
Ronaldo was visibly shattered, in tears after twice attempting to continue, and his absence meant the Iberian nation never posed the same threat when he was off the park.
Antoine Griezmann squandered two fabulous chances either side of half-time for the hosts, while Portugal’s opportunities were few and far between.
Raphael Guerreiro struck the crossbar with a curling free-kick in the second-half of extra-time, as the game appeared destined for penalties.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
But an unlikely hero in Eder broke the deadlock with a thunderous lowly hit drive to send the visitors into a frenzy.
Portugal
Rui Patricio – 7.5: Made a spectacular save to deny Griezmann and looked assured whenever called into action.
Cedric Soares – 6: Cautioned for a reckless challenge on Payet, though was comfortable in possession.
Pepe – 7: Resolute at the back, snuffing out any danger by making a number of interceptions and keeping Giroud relatively subdued.
Jose Fonte – 7: Impervious and dominant in the air and defended a barrage of Les Bleus attacks.
Raphael Guerreiro – 6: A little erratic on the ball at times, but won his individual battle against Sissoko.
William Carvalho – 6.5: Screened the defence with poise, the midfield dynamo put in another admirable shift for his nation. Brandished a yellow card for a professional foul on Coman.
Adrien Silva – 6: Did not exert his influence on proceedings in the same manner against Wales, however provided cover for his back four.
Joao Mario – 6.5: Perhaps A Selecao’s best midfielder on the night, provided an outlet for his team by holding up play and dribbling forward.
Renato Sanches – 6: The prodigious talent appeared nervous early, misplacing passes and seeing the ball role under his foot. However, he imposed himself on the game when he was shifted to the middle.
Nani – 6: Entrusted to lead the line on his own after Ronaldo’s injury, but more often than not had insufficient support.
Cristiano Ronaldo – N/A: Withdrawn on 25 minutes after he sustained a knock to his knee early and never fully recovered. The Portuguese struggled to shake off the injury as he could not move freely, patently heartbroken when he knew he could not continue.
Substitutes
Ricardo Quaresma – 6: Replaced Ronaldo but was largely defending and was not given the opportunity to get in advanced positions.
Joao Moutinho – 6: Brought on to add some creativity and inventiveness in the centre of midfield.
Eder – 8: Offered a robust presence in attack, won a few free-kicks and scored the match winner with a lowly driven strike.
France
Hugo Lloris – 6.5: Rarely troubled during the match, but did parry Nani’s goal-bound cross and apt in his distribution.
Bacary Sagna – 6: Delivered a couple of crosses towards the end of the game and did enough when defending.
Laurent Koscielny – 7: Constantly dealt with crosses from wide areas, strong in the tackle and was efficient in possession.
Samuel Umtiti – 6.5: The inexperienced youngster experienced another respectable outing, justifying his big money move to Barcelona.
Patrice Evra – 6.5: Another defensively sound performance and had licence to venture forward with Portugal playing with one striker.
Blaise Matuidi – 5.5: Like Pogba did not seem to do much with the ball and unable to break the lines.
Paul Pogba – 5: Largely anonymous for the majority of the first-half, the Juventus star got better in the second 45, but again failed to live up to the weight of expectation as he was played out of position by Didier Deschamps.
Moussa Sissoko – 7.5: Showcased his dynamism, surging forward many a times and created several headaches for the Portugal defence.
Antoine Griezmann – 6.5: Unable to repeat his previous goal-scoring exploits and squandered two golden opportunities with his head to put the hosts ahead.
Dimitri Payet – 5.5: His most notable contribution during the first-half was a physical clash with Ronaldo which forced the latter off with a knee injury. Replaced for Coman two minutes before the hour.
Olivier Giroud – 6: Missed a free header from a corner and cut an isolated figure up front, starved of adequate service.
Substitutes
Kingsley Coman – 6: Provided the necessary impetus off the bench, lively on the ball exhibiting pace when beating his opponents and executed a speculative shot from distance.
Andre-Pierre Gignac – 6: Agonisingly struck the post in stoppage time after an incisive turn to free himself from the attention of Pepe.
Anthony Martial – N/A: Not enough time to have an impact on the game.
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