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Ronaldo-less Portugal, which had never won any major soccer tournament title, upset hosts France 1-0 in the extra time of the breathtaking Euro 2016 final on Sunday night.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos said, "I've always told the players that we've got great talent but we need to fight more than our opponents, run more than them and concentrate more than them. We have an amazing group."
In the history-making triumph, it was substitute forward Eder, who only scored three goals for the national team before, took a pass from Joao Moutinho in the 109th minute, cut onto his right, and unleashed the perfect strike towards the near-corner. France keeper and captain Hugo Lloris made a stretch but still failed to touch the ball.
France coach Didier Deschamps was very disappointed, saying, "This is a big knock on the head."
The 48-year-old Deschamps, who had captained France to their 1998 World Cup victory on home soil and the Euro 2000 crown two years later, said, "I'm sad for my players. There are no words to comfort them. It's tough, real tough. It's hard also for the fans who wanted that trophy so much."
The 61-year-old Santos spoke highly of Cristiano Ronaldo, the captain and talisman of the Portuguese team, who got an injury only seven minutes into the game when French midfielder Dimitri Payet put in a challenge on him, and caught him with the follow-through, bringing play to a halt.
"Our captain made a fantastic effort during this competition. He was criticized many times but he showed a fantastic team spirit," Santos said.
Although Ronaldo continued playing for some time, he had to be replaced by Ricardo Quaresma in the 25th minute.
"Twice, he tried everything that was humanly possible to get back into the game but it wasn't possible," Santos added.
The injury cast a shadow over the match. France were back in possession. Midfielder Moussa Sissoko made several flash runs, as he injected a sudden burst of pace to send himself through.
Besides Sissoko, playmaker Antoine Griezmann, who had scored six times to take the Golden Boot of the tournament, made huge threats to Portugal's defense. However, luck was not on his side.
The statistics showed that France gained the upper hand with 56 percent ball possession and 7 on-target shots. But Portugal keeper Rui Patricio performed brilliantly to deny the hosts' willingness to win the battle in 90 minutes.
The tough duel witnessed six yellow cards for Portugal and four for the hosts.
This was the fourth meeting between Portugal and France in a major tournament. France had won the previous three, all in semifinals -- Euro 1984, Euro 2000 and the 2006 World Cup.
Portugal put in a defensive masterclass to deny the French the trophy on home soil. Santos' side, who had developed a flair for the dramatics, won their third match of the tournament in extra-time, after playing out to a sixth draw in seven games at Euro 2016.
(APD)
