11, July 2016

Portugal clinch first European football championship title ⁰

Despite losing captain Cristiano Ronaldo early in the match, an extra-time late solo by Portugal’s forward Eder against the host France saw Fernando Santos’s team clinch their first European football Championship title.

Portugal’s forward Cristiano Ronaldo holds his leg after being injured during the Euro 2016 final football match between Portugal and France at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on July 10, 2016. (AFP)

Twenty-five minutes into the Sunday night match, Ronaldo left the pitch in tears after playing for eight minutes while he was suffering from a knee injury from a clash with France’s Dimitri Payet.

Portugal’s forward Eder shoots to score the team’s first goal during the Euro 2016 final football match between France and Portugal at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on July 10, 2016. (AFP)

France’s goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (L) fails to save a goal by Portugal’s forward Eder (2ndR) during the Euro 2016 final football match between Portugal and France at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on July 10, 2016. (AFP)

The lackluster match was played out to a nil-nil stalemate until Portugal’s Eder (Éderzito António Macedo Lopes) picked up the ball in midfield and fired into the corner of the net with less than 10 minutes to the final whistle.