Wow!
Just the one win in normal time for Portugal throughout the entire tournament but they stand alone as European Champions.
They displayed immense fitness, valour and resilience to reach the final and with one game remaining, they kicked all those traits into overdrive.
As if their backs weren’t already up against the wall, Portugal lost their captain and most talented player after 25 minutes and it appeared to be a foregone conclusion for tournament favourites France.
This freeze frame shows grotesquely unnatural twist of Cristiano Ronaldo's knee https://t.co/d78XyEt1iE
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 10, 2016
But they fought for every ball, defended every blue wave as if their world would end if Rui Patricio was beaten and struck when it mattered most.
A wonderful Eder strike in the second half of extra time meant that Portugal wouldn’t have to rely on the pot luck of a penalty shootout.
As the net bulged and every player in red sprinted to the halfway line, Ronaldo was forced to limp to join in with the celebrations.
Ronaldo celebrating the goal… pic.twitter.com/pbyfcpIj6f
— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) July 10, 2016
But nothing would deny him that.
