After a month of football, the 51st game at UEFA Euro 2016 saw Portugal crowned the champions for the first time ever after beating France 1-0 in extra-time at the Stade de France in Paris. 12 years after losing a final at home themselves, they did to France what Greece did to them in 2004 – deny the host nation a triumph on home soil.
An Eder goal was enough to separate the two sides even after Cristiano Ronaldo was stretchered off in the first half following a knee injury. The Seleccao captain refused to be taken to the hospital for scans and remained at the stadium to encourage his teammates from the touchline.
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Portugal became the 10th country to win the coveted trophy – a win after having played 35 games in the tournament’s history. In spite of winning just one game in normal time (the 2-0 semi-final win over Wales), Fernando Santos managed to keep his promise and bring the cup back to the Iberian side.
We look at the various stat toppers over the entire tournament.
Most Goals: Antoine Griezmann
When Griezmann scored his sixth goal of the tournament – the second of a brace in France’s semi-final win over Germany – there were already comparisons made with Michel Platini. The French midfield legend had inspired Les Bleus to the 1984 Euro championship on home soil with nine goals in the tournament.
Sadly, Griezmann could not accomplish the same feat in spite of having chances to score in the final. He burst into life only in the knockout stages after Didier Deschamps changed his starting lineup and the Atletico Madrid striker fed off the likes of Olivier Giroud to eventually top the goalscoring charts.
The next best? Six players on three goals each.
| # | Player | Country | Minutes | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antoine Griezmann | France | 555 | 6 |
| 2 | Alvaro Morata | Spain | 289 | 3 |
| Dimitri Payet | France | 506 | 3 | |
| Gareth Bale | Wales | 533 | 3 | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 625 | 3 | |
| Nani | Portugal | 706 | 3 |
Most Shots on Goal: Cristiano Ronaldo
Portugal skipper Ronaldo was on a mission to deliver for his country and he was desperately trying to prove that judging by the number of shots he took on goal. Although many were feeble attempts which were easily saved, the fact that he was getting chances made the many defenders sweat.
His partnership with Nani was also fruitful, having assisted him a couple of times to allow Portugal to score. Ronaldo took home the Silver Boot but he was gracious enough to give the award to Nani after the game.
| # | Player | Country | Minutes | Shots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 625 | 45 |
| 2 | Antoine Griezmann | France | 555 | 28 |
| 3 | Gareth Bale | Wales | 533 | 26 |
Most Shots without scoring: Kevin De Bruyne
Belgium were labeled the dark horses of the tournament but eventually failed to live up to their potential to go far in the tournament. Marc Wilmots’ side had topped the FIFA rankings at the turn of the year and are still the highest ranked European team at #2.
A loss against Italy in the group stage opener was followed by a couple of inspiring performances. But they eventually fell short in the quarter-finals as Wales knocked them out with a resounding 3-1 win. The £55m rated Kevin De Bruyne had a torrid time and, in spite of setting up chances, he was unable to get on the score sheet himself.
Germany also faltered at the semi-final stage and one of their biggest culprits was Thomas Muller not getting on the scoresheet even once. With 10 World Cup goals to his name, Muller even failed to score in the penalty shootout against Italy – a truly disappointing tournament for the Bayern Munich man.
| # | Player | Country | Shots |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin De Bruyne | Belgium | 21 |
| 2 | Thomas Muller | Germany | 20 |
| 3 | Toni Kroos | Germany | 15 |
Most Assists: Eden Hazard & Aaron Ramsey
Eden Hazard came to Euro 2016 to prove a point – that the poor 2015/16 season with Chelsea was just an aberration. He had shown signs of getting back to his best towards the end of the Premier League season and was back to his best two games into the tournament. The two games against the Republic of Ireland and Hungary saw Hazard lead from the front as the Red Devils skipper scored and assisted goals.
Wales also had a dream run that was 58 years in the making. Reaching the semi-finals was their best performance since Pele knocked them out of the 1958 World Cup at the quarter-finals stage. Although Gareth Bale was their star player, it was Aaron Ramsey’s creativity and guile between defence and attack that saw Wales triumph at the Euros.
Unfortunately, a second yellow card cruelly ruled him out of the semi-final and Wales capitulated as a result. Nevertheless, he still topped the assists chart.
| # | Player | Country | Minutes | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eden Hazard | Belgium | 441 | 4 |
| 2 | Aaron Ramsey | Wales | 448 | 4 |
| 3 | Kevin De Bruyne | Belgium | 450 | 3 |
Most Chances Created: Dimitri Payet
When France were still finding their best starting lineup in attack in the early stages of the tournament, there was no question that Dimitri Payet had to play no matter what. Shuttled between the left wing and midfield, the West Ham midfielder, who shot to fame in the Premier League this season, was on fire for Les Bleus.
Although he had only two assists to his name, Payet created 24 chances in the seven games he played (of which he started six).
| # | Player | Country | Minutes | Chances Created |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dimitri Payet | France | 506 | 24 |
| 2 | Kevin De Bruyne | Belgium | 450 | 23 |
| 3 | Mesut Ozil | Germany | 570 | 18 |
Most Passes Completed: Toni Kroos
Even though Germany struggled to break down opponents in the big games, it was Toni Kroos who ensured they kept knocking at the door. Not many players in Europe can circulate the ball as well as the Real Madrid midfielder.
In games Die Mannschaft dominated possession, players completed more than 100 passes and Kroos was at the centre of it all. He was so far ahead of the rest of the apck that in spite of playing one game fewer than the finalists, he still topped the passing charts.
| # | Player | Country | Minutes | Passes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toni Kroos | Germany | 570 | 593 |
| 2 | Jerome Boateng | Germany | 508 | 406 |
| 3 | Paul Pogba | France | 602 | 393 |
Most Dribbles: Gareth Bale
Having been involved in the majority of their goals in qualifying for Euro 2016, Wales banked on Gareth Bale to deliver on the big stage and he did. With a goal in every group game, the Dragons topped the group in spite of a loss to England and saw an easier route to the semi-finals.
The Real Madrid star was at his supreme best, beating defenders with pace and topped the dribbling charts at the tournament. It was his pace and ability to beat defenders that also allowed him to put in crosses that ultimately led to goals.
| # | Player | Country | Dribbles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gareth Bale | Wales | 40 |
| 2 | Eden Hazard | Belgium | 32 |
| 3 | Moussa Sissoko | France | 28 |
Most Saves: Hannes Halldorsson
If there was one great story from Euro 2016, it would have to be Iceland’s rise as a football nation. The country with a population of just over 330,000 managed to form a team, qualify for the tournament, go through to the knockout stages and even beat England in the Round of 16!
Hannes Halldorsson was a rock at the back for the island nation and a leaky defence saw him make as many as 24 saves in the tournament. Despite playing only five games, he topped the charts for the most saves.
| # | Player | Country | Saves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hannes Halldorsson | Iceland | 24 |
| 2 | Rui Patricio | Portugal | 20 |
| 3 | Lukasz Fabianski | Poland | 18 |
All stats taken from WhoScored and Opta
