Portugal stars triumphed over France at Euro 2016 for KO’d Cristiano Ronaldo, says Thierry Henry
THIERRY HENRY says Portugal's stars produced a stunning win over France to win Euro 2016 for Cristiano Ronaldo.
The nation's skipper broke down in tears as he missed most of the biggest game of his stellar career with injury.
Les Bleus star Dimitri Payet clashed with the Real Madrid ace, 31, eight minutes in and was stretchered off eight minutes later.
But the rest of Fernando Santos' men - without their talisman - went on to down the host nation and win their first ever major trophy.
Henry, who won the World Cup with France in '98 and the Euros in 2000, said: "Firstly, well done to Portugal.
"You can only win a tournament as a team. Perfect example, Ronaldo comes off and they still win it.
"When you lose a big guy like that you have to be resilient.
"And they won it for him."
Swansea flop Eder bagged the winning goal with 11 minutes left on the clock.
The forward - brought on as a substitute - drilled home a powerful shot from outside the box to break French hearts.
And Henry, 38, reckons the hitman was the difference on the night.
Speaking on the BBC, he said: "People may say 'why did Martial not come on?'
"Eder made a difference because he is a striker. He turned Koscielny inside out and scored."
England legend and SunSport columnist Alan Shearer believes France's big-game players went missing and cost them the tournament.
He added: "Before the game you say 'let's have no regrets'. The France team will tonight.
"They didn't play well. They had two or three chances to win but we didn't see that energy.
"Payet, Griezmann, Pogba - there was definitely something missing.
"They were subdued and it helped them [Portugal] win the game."