Home   >   MOTDs   >   Griezmann, France fall short as Portugal triumph in Euro final

Griezmann, France fall short as Portugal triumph in Euro final

By on July 10, 2016

Antoine Griezmann gave one long, forlorn look at the Euro 2016 trophy before continuing the lonely walk across the trophy presentation aisle.  It’s uncertain that he’ll come as close to it again.  He would collect the Golden Boot for most goals scored in the tournament but France exited the Euros feeling empty-handed.

No man has scored more goals in a single European Championship tournament without winning the tournament than Griezmann, and the Golden Boot could do little to comfort the numbing sense of disappointment that all Frenchmen and Frenchwomen felt as Portugal beat Didier Deschamps’ men 1-0 in the Euro 2016 final on French soil.

Eder scored the decisive goal deep into extra-time for Portugal after coming on as a late substitute to hand the underdogs the victory.  “[Eder] told me he would score when I sent him on,” said Portugal coach Santos. “The ugly duckling went and did just that. Now he’s a beautiful swan.”

Cristiano Ronaldo might have gone off injured within the first half hour of the final but his presence would remain a driving force behind Portugal’s success.  Ronaldo was more active than coach Fernando Santos on the touchline, urging his teammates on and celebrating with them when the final whistle blew in extra-time.  He had barely broken a sweat before injury forced him off, but in classic Ronaldo fashion, his shirt was removed nevertheless in the post-match euphoria for Portugal.

“[Ronaldo] tried to remain on the pitch,” beamed Santos, per the BBC. “He was very strong in the locker room, he helped all of the boys, that’s the definition of teamwork.”

Added Santos, per The Guardian: “The way Cristiano spoke to us and reached the lads, motivating them, in the changing room and in the dugout … he believed that tonight was going to be our night. On his behalf, I’d like to thank all the players for believing. We were as simple as doves and wise as serpents. I thank them all.”

Said Pepe: “This was tough because we lost our main man and we’d pinned all our hopes on him.  Cristiano’s a player who can score a goal at any second but, when he said he couldn’t go on, I told my team-mates that we had to win it for him; that we were going to fight, to fight for him.”

While France were so bright and lethal in their semifinal victory over Germany, they collectively fell flat tonight.  Dimitri Payet, who was substituted in the second half, Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi, Olivier Giroud and even Griezmann were all underwhelming just when France needed a hero.  Moussa Sissoko was one bright spot for France but his incisive pace through the middle could not make the difference for the home side.

It was an exciting, open start with Nani bursting in behind in the fifth minute and firing a wild volley high and wide. Sissoko volleyed over from the edge of the box and Griezmann nearly gave France the lead in the ninth minute, directing a long-range, Robin Van Persie-esque header looping towards the top corner.  Rui Patricio spectacularly tipped it wide and was forced to make another save to stop Giroud’s powerful low header from the following corner.

Yet Cristiano Ronaldo’s knee injury in the twenty-fifth minute cast a long shadow over the game and both teams looked tense and increasingly conservative in their play.  Ronaldo tried numerous times to recover but was eventually forced off the pitch in tears.

Sissoko nearly took advantage of the Ronaldo-sized hole in the middle for Portugal, driving down the center of the pitch and releasing a venomous effort that whistled just over the crossbar from twenty-nine yards.  He came close again in the thirty-third minute, firing a low effort towards the bottom corner of the net after a back-heel-nutmeg-turn on Cedric Soares.

Yet France’s momentum soon stagnated.

Kingsley Coman’s introduction for Payet gave France some pace and a sense of urgency in the middle and shortly afterwards Griezmann tested Rui Patricio with a low shot on the left side of the box.  Griezmann had another golden opportunity moments later, ghosting in behind to head Coman’s dangerous far-post cross inches over the crossbar.

In the seventy-fifth minute, Coman slipped Giroud in down the left and Patricio made another excellent stop from Giroud’s low effort across the goal.

Although Portugal by and large sat back and soaked up pressure, Nani’s cross nearly found its way into the back of the net towards the end of regulation time but Lloris was alert to bat it away. Ricardo Quaresma lined up an acrobatic overhead kick from the rebound but once again Lloris was on hand to make the save.

France had most of the momentum going forward into extra-time, with Sissoko’s long-range drive parried away and Gignac’s stoppage time shot firing off the inside of the post, but in the end, it was Portugal who struck the fatal blow.

Raphael Geuirreiro hit the crossbar with a lovely free-kick before Eder drove down the middle of the park in the hundred-and-tenth minute and unleashed a low bouncing effort into the bottom corner.  More boos than cheers met the goal at the sold-out Stade de France but it did little to dampen Portugal’s celebrations.

Homepage photo credit: Clément Bucco-Lechat (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.