July 11, 2016

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo lifts the Euro 2016 trophy as his teammates celebrate their 1-0 championship win over France on July 10, 2016.
Credit: © Frank Augstein, AP Photo

Yesterday, July 10, Portugal‘s national men’s soccer team upset home favorite France 1-0 to win the 2016 UEFA European Championship at the Stade de France near Paris. UEFA stands for the Union of European Football Associations. Soccer is called football in much of the world. It was Portugal’s first European title and first major tournament win of any kind. It wasn’t Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, however, who pushed the red-clad Seleção (Selection) to victory. Ronaldo, a three-time Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball) award winner as the world’s most outstanding player, left the pitch after suffering an early knee injury. Portuguese heroics were then left to sure-handed goalkeeper Rui Patrício and—in the match’s 109^th minute—late substitute forward Éder.

In the match’s 8^th minute, Ronaldo collided with French midfielder Dimitri Payet. Ronaldo went to the turf, clutching his knee, but he remained in the game. A few minutes later, the hobbling Ronaldo went down again, receiving treatment on the sideline before returning to action. Finally, just 25 minutes into the match, the superstar forward could take no more. Grimacing and hugely disappointed, Ronaldo left the pitch on a stretcher. At the time, Ronaldo’s injury seemed to spell doom for the Portuguese. The Seleção have a poor track record in international tournaments, and it looked like the grit that advanced them through the month-long Euro 16 would not be enough to win it as well.

France dominated the first half, but several scoring opportunities turned up nothing—thanks largely to Patrício, who made several outstanding saves and repeatedly snatched the ball amidst pockets of French attackers and Portuguese defenders. After a lackluster second half, time expired with the score still 0-0—the first time a Euro championship final had remained scoreless through 90 minutes.

Extra time, too, began uneventfully and the match seemed destined to end in a penalty shootout. But then, shortly after a Portuguese miss off the crossbar, Éder, who had entered the match in the 79^th minute, snaked a goal past French keeper Hugo Lloris to put the Portuguese up 1-0—a lead they would not relinquish.

Portugal’s victory ended a run of 10 straight losses to France, who lost a major tournament on home soil for the first time since 1960. Ronaldo, who had languished and then cheered and then celebrated on the sideline, was the first to raise the Henri Delaunay Cup for Portugal in the Seleção’s finest moment to date.