		<div class="wpcnt">
			<div class="wpa">
				<span class="wpa-about">Advertisements</span>
				<div class="u top_amp">
							<amp-ad width="300" height="265"
		 type="pubmine"
		 data-siteid="111265417"
		 data-section="1">
		</amp-ad>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div><p>Cristiano Ronaldo&#8217;s Euro 2016 final dismay turned into elation as Portugal secured an &#8220;unforgettable&#8221; and historic win against France.</p>
<p>Adept at making it to the semi-final stage, only once before this week&#8217;s clash with Wales had the Portuguese managed to progress it to the showpiece finale.</p>
<p>When they did it 12 years ago on home turf they lost to unfancied Greece &#8211; a defeat Ronaldo helped make amends for at the Stade de France on Sunday, albeit being on the field for only 25 minutes.</p>
<p>Forced off through injury, the 31-year-old instead cajoled his team-mates as they went onto win their first-ever major tournament thanks to substitute Eder&#8217;s long-range, extra-time strike.</p>
<p>&#8220;We beat France and I&#8217;m delighted,&#8221; Ronaldo said, fresh from lifting the trophy.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is one of the happiest moments in my career. I&#8217;ve always said I wanted to win a trophy with the national team and make history. And I did it. Thank God, things went well for us.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d like to thank my team-mates, our coach, our wider team in this Euro, the Portuguese people and all the ex-pats who were always with us, cheering for us from the beginning.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is a unique moment for me, for all the Portuguese people and it&#8217;s unforgettable.&#8221;</p>
<p>Portugal showed they are far from a one-man operation against hosts France, defending resolutely and outsmarting France.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m so happy &#8211; very happy,&#8221; Ronaldo said, having celebrated with his left knee heavily strapped.</p>
<p>&#8220;This was something I have wanted for a long time now, ever since 2004. I asked God to give me another chance.</p>
<p>[pull_quote_left]&#8221;The Portuguese people deserve this, our players deserved this.[/pull_quote_left]</p>
<p>&#8220;Unfortunately, things didn&#8217;t go well for me. I injured myself in the first few minutes, but I&#8217;ve always believed in these players.</p>
<p>&#8220;They have quality and ability, along with our coach&#8217;s strategy to win.&#8221;</p>
<p>While Portuguese celebrated into the night and beyond, Les Bleus were left reeling from a galling extra-time defeat on home turf.</p>
<p>France coach Didier Deschamps was as crestfallen as the fans and his players, having failed to make home advantage count like the teams of 1984 and 1998.</p>
<p>&#8220;Of course the overriding emotion is of huge disappointment,&#8221; the man who captained the Euro 2000 triumph and World Cup success two years before that said. &#8220;It&#8217;s cruel to lose the final like that.</p>
<p>&#8220;You have to accept it, I congratulate Portugal &#8211; they are the newly-crowned champions.</p>
<p>&#8220;Clearly we had our chances and had the last opportunity (of normal time) with Andre-Pierre Gignac striking the post in stoppage time.</p>
<p>&#8220;We weren&#8217;t clinical enough, we weren&#8217;t cool-headed enough. Perhaps we also lacked a bit of freshness.</p>
<p>&#8220;Although I&#8217;ve got nothing that I can hold against my players, they gave absolutely everything tonight.</p>
<p>&#8220;It really came down to very fine margins. But unfortunately we lacked what was essential. It&#8217;s very hard, it&#8217;s cruel but we have to accept it, and we&#8217;ll have to digest this, all of us.&#8221;</p>
			<div style="padding-bottom:15px;" class="wordads-tag" data-slot-type="belowpost">
				<div id="atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68ed379d8fc7f">
					<script type="text/javascript">
						window.getAdSnippetCallback = function () {
							if ( false === ( window.isWatlV1 ?? false ) ) {
								// Use Aditude scripts.
								window.tudeMappings = window.tudeMappings || [];
								window.tudeMappings.push( {
									divId: 'atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68ed379d8fc7f',
									format: 'belowpost',
								} );
							}
						}

						if ( document.readyState === 'loading' ) {
							document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', window.getAdSnippetCallback );
						} else {
							window.getAdSnippetCallback();
						}
					</script>
				</div>
			</div>
Discover more from London Glossy Post
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
