Monday, 11 July 2016

Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal continue Euro 2016 celebration party as they arrive home to remarkable reception in Lisbon

Portugal's Euro 2016 heroes continued celebrating their first ever international trophy as they arrived back in Lisbon following their 1-0 victory over France.
Cristiano Ronaldo's side were 1-0 winners over the hosts, a superb long-range strike from substitute Eder in extra time proving to be the only goal of the game.

It sparked wild celebrations for manager Fernando Santos and his team, the party continuing both before the squad flew back to Portugal and on arrival into Lisbon.

For Ronaldo, lifting silverware with his country was the icing on the cake of his already glittering career and the Real Madrid star was more than keen to show off his latest success.

The 31-year-old forward displayed the trophy to fans outside Portugal's team hotel in Marcoussis on the outskirts of the French capital, clearly still delighted after an emotional evening.

Once aboard the plane, Ronaldo posted a series of pictures to Instagram as both he and the squad continued their celebrations with the trophy.

Ronaldo suffered a first-half knee injury at the Stade de France after clashing with Dmitri Payet and was forced from the field in tears after trying to carry on.

But by the end of 120 minutes of tight action with few clear-cut chances, it was the men in red who were celebrating as France had to suffer the pain of losing in front of their own fans.

Ronaldo was joined in showing off Portugal's European title by fellow attacking stars Nani and Ricardo Quaresma, before the team boarded a bus to the airport.

For Santos, Ronaldo and the entire 23-man Portugal squad, a remarkable reception awaits in their homeland after they ended their habit of exiting big tournaments in the latter stages.

It was a particularly sweet occasion for their captain, former Manchester United winger Ronaldo putting his enforced substitution to one side to urge on his team from the sidelines.

Clearly emotional at being forced off in the biggest game of his international career, Ronaldo put all his attentions into supporting his team-mates, almost acting as if he was the manager himself by putting his knee injury scare to one side to patrol the technical area alongside Santos.

In the end it eventually paid off in the most dramatic of fashions, as Eder's goal sent a nation used to near misses into ecstasy.

'We beat France and I'm delighted,' said a clearly emotional Ronaldo after his team's triumph.
'This is one of the happiest moments in my career. I'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.

'I'd like to thank my team-mates, our coach, our wider team, the Portuguese people and all the ex-pats who were always with us, cheering for us from the beginning.
'This is a unique moment for me, for all the Portuguese people and it's unforgettable.'

Portugal only just scraped through to the latter stages in France, drawing all three of their opening games with Iceland, Austria and Hungary.

Only two goals from Ronaldo in the 3-3 tie with Hungary sealed a place in the last 16, Portugal then going on to topple Croatia, Poland and Wales on the way to the final.
                         Substitute striker Eder, who scored the winning goal, is applauded by Ronaldo at their hotel on Monday
Much has been made of Portugal's run to the last two - their 2-0 win over Wales was the only game they won in 90 minutes - but Santos' team deserve credit for their organisation, defensive resilience and ability to perform under pressure when it mattered most.

'I'm so happy - very happy,' Ronaldo said in the immediate aftermath of his team's win.
'This was something I have wanted for a long time now, ever since 2004. I asked God to give me another chance. The Portuguese people deserve this, our players deserved this.

'Unfortunately, things didn't go well for me. I injured myself in the first few minutes, but I've always believed in these players. They have quality and ability, along with our coach's strategy to win.'



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