BY Tim Parsons
Uninspiring champions the Portuguese team are, but Portuguese fans all over London have celebrated with fireworks in the capital.
Portuguese fans celebrated a sweet football victory all over London after beating France last night.
France, who were favourites, were unable to capitalise on Ronaldo’s absence from the pitch following a knee injury he suffered in the 25th minute of the game. Trafalgar Square in London was filled with happy Portuguese nationals, who flew their country’s flags with them as a contagious spirit of jubilation engulfed many parts of central London .
This was the first win for Portugal in a major tournament, and this must have simply been a fraction of the celebrations experienced in Portugal itself. Portuguese bars in Lambeth, Stockwell, and Kilburn was buzzing with excitement after tonnes of Portuguese fans witnessed their stars beat the hosts with a single goal in extra time. France is no stranger to success in tournaments, having won both the European and world cups at various stages of their history. They won the European championships in 1984 and 2000 and won the world cup in 1998. Portugal has always been a good side, like many other teams in any European tournament. However, winning an entire tournament is something new for them. However, Portugal has only conceded one goal in their last 5 knockout games at the European championships and has only lost one of their last 13 games in major tournaments, against Germany in the group stages of 2014. However, they are unbeaten in their last 13 fixtures under Fernando Santos. They have always been a tough side to beat.
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PUBS
Plenty of fireworks went off during these street celebrations, as many Portuguese celebrants flooded nearby pubs and increased their rounds of alcohol. Not many football experts would have predicted victory for Portugal, as most had their eyes on France or Germany to be crowned European champions of 2016. The last time Portugal came this close was in Greece in 2004, when they lost in the final to Greece- also underdogs to win that tournament. 12 years later, Portugal finally found their mojo and have given their citizens every reason to jubilate.
Portugal’s goal scorer, Eder, came to the pitch as a substitute for crying Ronaldo, who was carried off on a stretcher in tears when his knees went. Had Ronaldo not injured his knee, there is every reason to believe that Eder may never have come on, and the game could have stayed goals, and decided on penalties. Penalties are always unpredictable at national tournaments because much depends on chance, nerves, accuracy, and the ability and performance of the goalkeeper. However, 19 minutes into the second half of extra time, Eder beat the defender, Laurent Koscienly, before applying enough pressure from his legs to the ball in a powerfully delivered shot to beat the goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris. The worrying prospect of a penalty shoot-out had disappeared, at least for the duration of the immediate celebrations in the stadium.That goal took a lot of the pressure off the team, thought need to hang on and ensure they did not concede a goal to lose their lead before the final bell was ever so strong
Portugal had indeed been uninspiring for most of this tournament. They did not play an exciting or impressive game up until the victorious finish. This Portuguese side had been defensive for most of the game, struggling to deliver a meaningful shot on goal . In fact, their overall showing in this tournament was so unspectacular, other teams should kick themselves for not getting this far. Portugal had failed to win any of their games in the group stages, settling for draws in each of their games. I left France for England, the Monday England crashed out of the tournament, but writers of other publications who stayed until the last game told me their manager, 61 years old, Fernandos Santos, was optimistic his side would win the tournament, and would be happy for the media to criticise the performance of his team’s performance, provided they win.
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UNINSPIRING
Their victory cannot be taken from them, but it was not a memorable performance. It was uninspiring. They managed to put up a formidable defence, making it incredibly difficult for any team to break them down, but they can also be said to have been lucky winners in one sense. In the sense that had France managed to score in the normal 90mins, Portugal would have lost the final they celebrate so heartily now. Football is meant to be exciting, full of tricks, talent, and beautiful goals. This Portuguese side did not give us that, even though they had a team full of talent. The England team watching this side should really be asking themselves hard questions, as to why they couldn’t be Iceland and go on to win this championship. This Portuguese victory is a strong reminder that England is full of overpaid players who fail to deliver every time it matters. It is such a shame because there is no reason England should be able to beat Portugal on a good day, never mind the fact we lost to Iceland on a bad day. Bad days are simply not allowed on a big stage, but they happen. Portugal played a strategic, tedious game of solid defending until Eder came and secured their victory. Their celebration will probably goo on all week. Good luck to them
Picture By Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro (1910; generic design); Vítor Luís Rodrigues; António Martins-Tuválkin
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