“It was not just Cristiano Ronaldo speaking then” - Ex-Portugal defender opens up on Euro 2016 success after disappointing group stages

Jose Fonte has shed light on how Portugal pushed themselves to win EURO 2016 under Cristiano Ronaldo's leadership. He revealed that the players were unhappy with how they just about qualified for the knockout stages, drawing all their three group games and finishing third in the table.

In his BBC Sport column, Fonte wrote that the whole dressing room was pushing each other to improve after a dodgy start to the tournament. He added that multiple players, including Ronaldo, were part of the leadership group. He wrote:

"I came into the Portugal squad at a later age - I was nearly 31 when I was called up in 2014 - but over the next eight years I had some amazing times with Cristiano. I have some great memories, but the greatest of all has to be when Portugal won Euro 2016. You have to remember how we started that tournament, with three draws against Iceland, Austria and Hungary in our group."

"After the Hungary draw we knew we had qualified in third place, but everyone was unhappy and saying what they thought needed to improve - it was not just Cristiano speaking then! Because of our togetherness, we made it happen and you could not imagine the level of competitiveness that we reached. In training, it was like we were playing games. Players that were not being used as much were training like maniacs and made sure they were ready if they were called upon," he continued.

"You can only go somewhere in a tournament if you have a squad thinking like that, and that is a collective thing. As we went through the knockout stages, our belief and our confidence just grew and then the journey was completed when we beat France in the final. Even then, the game did not follow the script. With Cristiano in the team I always felt we could beat anyone, but he got injured early on. Everyone in the team got together and said, 'Listen, we are going to have to do this the hard way,' and it was very hard, but we did it," he added.

EURO 2016 was the first international trophy for Cristiano Ronaldo. He has since won the UEFA Nations League and is looking to win the EURO once again this summer.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal in EURO 2016

Portugal squeezed into the knockout stages after drawing all three of their group stages matches to Iceland, Hungary and Austria. They managed to score four times in the three matches but also conceded as many times.

They needed a 117th-minute goal from Ricardo Quaresma to beat Croatia 1-0 in the Round of 16. However, in the quarterfinals, Poland took them all the way to the penalty shootout but Cristiano Ronaldo's side came out victorious.

Portugal's first win of the tournament in normal time came in the semi-final against Wales. Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani scored the goals as they secured a 2-0 win. Extra time was needed in the final against France, but Portugal won 1-0 with a goal from Eder in the 109th minute.