OTD in 2016, Portugal beat France 1-0 to win the UEFA European Championship (video)

July 10, 2020 / Sports / By Tosin Abayomi

On July 10th, 2016 Portugal beat host France 1-0 to win the 2016 UEFA European Championship.

France were favorites to win the tournament on home soil as they did at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Portugal were led by Cristiano Ronaldo one of the greatest players the game has ever seen in the search for his first international title.

The Portuguese would however suffer a setback at the start of the game as Ronaldo got injured and was substituted early for Ricardo Quaresma in the 25th minute.

The substitution of Ronaldo in the final lowered expectations of Portuguese supporters who were hoping to banish memories of losing to Greece in 2004.

OTD in 2004: Greece shock Ronaldo’s Portugal 1-0 to win UEFA European Championship (video)
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The game was dominated by France with Portugal sitting deep but they failed to score in 90 minutes and therefore extra time.

With the game edging closer to penalties, Portugal found the breakthrough from striker Eder in the 109th.

France could not find an equalizer as Portugal held on to be European champions for the first time in front of 75,868 fans in attendance at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis.

Watch highlights of Portugal vs France below

A moment @selecaoportugal and Eder will never forget! What was your highlight of 2016? pic.twitter.com/IEX6BJ5VXe
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) December 31, 2016