SOCCER

5 Things We Learned From Euro 2016

Austan Kas  —  @AustanKas Jul 13th, 2016
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Portugal Is More Than Just Cristiano Ronaldo

In the final, Portugal was a major underdog to host France.

Portugal -- who struggled to a third-place finish in its group -- featured the best player on the pitch in Cristiano Ronaldo, but they were out-classed by the French at nearly every other position, except for Pepe at center back.

The talent discrepancy between the two sides grew even larger when Ronaldo was forced off 25 minutes into the match with a knee injury.

Surely France would cruise to a title in front of its rabid fans.

Not so fast.

Without its star man, Portugal, who had sat back all tourney, fell back into even more of a defensive shell, inviting France to bring on the offensive pressure while hoping to break out on a counter attack. The strategy worked perfectly.

The French controlled the match and finished with the edge in possession (53%) and shots on target (7 to 3), but the hosts couldn't break through for a goal despite some golden opportunities, including this shot off the post late in stoppage time from Andre-Pierre Gignac that would've been a sure match-winner had it made the net bulge.

As the match wore on, Portugal started to find its footing, especially after manager Fernando Santos brought on forward Eder as a sub in the 79th minute. The move reeked of an attempt at a smash and grab. The team who had hardly generated anything resembling sustained offensive play at any point in the match was bringing on an offensive-minded player.

Santos played his cards perfectly.

Eder shook off a defender and hammered home a strike from roughly 25 yards out, sneaking it past France goalie Hugo Lloris and bringing home an unlikely Euro 2016 title to Portugal, a nation which had never won a major tournament.

While Ronaldo was on the sidelines, he still managed to grab headlines, but it was the play of Pepe, Ronaldo's Real Madrid teammate, and the rest of the back line that propelled Portugal past France. It's been quite a year for both Ronaldo and Pepe as they have this trophy to add to the Champions League crown they won with Real Madrid.

Renato Sanches, an 18-year-old Portuguese midfielder, announced himself as an up-and-coming star in the tournament.

The former Benfica youth player and senior team member was already a name to know, moving to superpower Bayern Munich for big money in May, but for the first time, the world got to see him against top-flight competition. He became the youngest player to ever earn a cap for Portugal, and he netted a crucial goal versus Poland in group play, earning Man of the Match honors. Per Squawka, he attempted 188 passes in the tourney, completing 88% of them.

Portugal was by no means the best team in the tournament, but they walked away as champions while showing they can still be relevant when Ronaldo's heyday passes.

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