The 2016 edition of the European Championships is now in the books, and for a long time, it’ll be remembered as the tournament of the underdogs. From Iceland’s upset of England, to Wales’ appearance in the semifinals, and Portugal’s crowning in the final as a +350 underdog, the unexpected became a reality at the 2016 European Championships.
As we approached the final, France was the favourite and the home team. Previously, they had won a World Cup and two European Championships as either hosts or co-hosts, and they had played well for most of the tournament. Portugal, on the other hand, was perceived as a team that snuck into the final with the assistance of an easy schedule. They failed to beat Iceland and Austria, and needed penalty kicks to survive Poland.
Portugal was considered a one-trick pony with Cristiano Ronaldo forced to shoulder the load, but that proved to be false in the final. In the 25th minute, Ronaldo, who had collided with Dimitri Payet on the eighth minute, was carried off the field on a stretcher with a knee injury. Portugal’s captain handed the armband to Nani and left the field in tears. Surely, France – with the home crowd behind them – would beat a Ronaldo-less Portugal.
But as we moved into the second half, France failed to take advantage. The second frame started sloppy with Paul Pogba trying a long shot that went over the bar, and Griezmann was stopped by Patricio. France increased pressure on Portugal over the next 20 minutes, but didn’t get a lot of great chances.
Then, in injury time, French substitute Andre-Pierre Gignac turned in the box and shot past Patricio, only to see the ball go off the post; Griezmann wasn't quick enough to react to the rebound. The deciding moment came in the 109th minute when Portuguese forward Eder connected on a legendary shot. He smashed the ball from 20 yards out, beating French goalkeeper Lloris to give Portugal a 1-0 lead. It would stand to give Portugal their first major tournament win in what was probably the biggest upset on this type of stage since Portugal lost to Greece at home in 2004.
The Golden Boot went to Griezmann, who scored six goals for his country, and Portugal's Renato Sanches won the Young Player of the Tournament award. Portugal showed a lot of heart by barely getting to the knockout stage after three group-stage draws. Then they beat Croatia in extra time, Poland in penalties and got their lone regulation-time win from Wales in the semifinals. Portugal came together as a defensive powerhouse in the final with their talisman, Ronaldo, on the sidelines. The injured captain came back to lift the trophy with his teammates to cap a glorious win for Portugal.