The Portuguese players’ performance

1. Rui Patricio
The goalkeeper had a great tournament. He was one of the key reasons for Portugal’s success. Patricio was the first choice for Portugal in all the 7 games in the competition and equalized Schmeichel’s record from 1992 for most saves in the Euro final match (7).

2. Bruno Alves
The brave defender Bruno Alves was among the starting eleven on only one occasion, but his performance against Wales in the semi-final match was very good and he paid his tribute to the Portugal’s title.

3. Pepe
The defender of Real Madrid became the Man of The Match in the final against France. He was one of the most important players for his country. With the defensive approach to the games by Portugal, they desperately needed such a player like Pepe. With his classy performance, he proved he is one of the best defenders in the world!

4. Jose Fonte
Fonte of Southampton appeared for the first time on the pitch at the European championship in the Round of 16 against Croatia. He took part in 4 games in total and with him on the pitch, the Portuguese conceded only 2 goals in 4 games.

5. Raphael Guerreiro
The fullback became the highest rated player by the stats site whoscored.com. He played in 5 matches at the Euro 2016. He was very close to score a goal in the final against France, but his shot from a free kick hit the bar. However, Guerreiro was very disciplined and was perfect in defence.

6. Ricardo Carvalho
The most experienced player in Portugal’s squad (38 years old), Ricardo Carvalho surprisingly, was in the starting eleven for Portugal’s first 3 games of the group stage. Carvalho wasn’t very persuasive against Hungary in the third game of the competition, when his team conceded 3 goals and that’s why Santos left him on the bench for the next matches. But, Carvalho was also helpful from the bench, giving his teammates precious advices.

7. Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo was the best player for his team. A player, who is the leader, the goal-scorer and the motivator. He scored 3 goals and made 2 assists. Ronaldo showed prowess, staying 20 minutes on the pitch against France, after receiving a knee injury. Then he returned on the bench and was even more emotional than the head coach Fernando Santos. Cristiano Ronaldo encouraged his teammate Moutinho to take a penalty against Poland and the midfielder scored the goal. So, Ronaldo was the key reason for Portugal’s success!

8. Joao Moutinho
29-year-old midfielder was mostly used as a substitute player. He came from the bench in the final match and provided an assist to Eder. Moutinho scored the third penalty against Poland.

9. Eder
The person, who decided the final was exactly Eder. He had a great influence on the game after he came on in the 79th minute. Eder scored the only goal of the final game in the 109th minute with a powerful shot! That was just his 4th international goal, but maybe the most important of his career!

10. Joao Mario
The midfielder was very important player in Portugal’s title run. He took part in all 7 matches at the Euro 2016. Mario was tireless! He gave everything for his team and played well until the very last second of every game at the European championship. At his age of 23, he has a bright future in the Portugal national team.

11. Vieirinha
Several years ago, he was described as one of the biggest talents of the Portuguese football. The 30-year-old Vieirinha is a part of Wolfsburg’s squad. The left fullback, as Ricardo Carvalho, took part in the first 3 matches of the Euro 2016, before Santos changed the tactics and the players. Vieirinha couldn’t impress with his performance, but was useful to his team during the group stage of the competition.

12. Anthony Lopes (reserve goalkeeper)

13. Danilo Pereira
Pereira recorded 225 minutes at the Euro 2016, but was very helpful. Pereira was used when Portugal needed to be stronger in defence. He was very disciplined, which was the main quality for Portugal’s success.

14. William Carvalho
In the Round of 16, against Croatia, Fernando Santos put Carvalho as a defensive midfielder and that was one of the most successful moves. The midfielder became the player with the most passes per game – 70. He made 2,6 tackles per game (2nd place) and 1,4 interceptions per match! Carvalho has made 13 successful tackles in total and has let players to dribble past him just twice.

15. Andre Gomes
The midfielder of Valencia made a great start of his participation at the Euro 2016. He assisted for the first Portugal’s goal in the competition. His brilliant pass found Nani in the box, who scored against Iceland. The midfielder took part in 5 matches and deservedly got his golden medal.

16. Renato Sanches
He became the best young player at the Euro 2016! There were lots of speculations about his real age, but it’s true that he is just 18 years old. Sanches is considered as the biggest young talent of the Portuguese football nowadays. Renato scored the very important equalizer against Poland and sent the match into the penalties.

17. Luis Nani
The former Manchester United player was the hero in shadow for Portugal. He also scored 3 goals and made 1 assist. Ronaldo ceded to Luis Nani the Silver boot for the second best goal-scorer. Luis Nani was the captain against France after Ronaldo left the pitch injured. That’s enough to be seen how important Nani was for Portugal.

18. Rafa Silva (played for only a couple of minutes against Austria)

19. Eliseu
The left fullback played in only 2 matches – against Hungary and Poland. He was left out of the starting eleven after weak performance against Hungary, but had the chance to improve against Poland and it was obvious that he has learned from his mistakes.

20. Ricardo Quaresma
For sure, without Quaresma there wouldn’t have been a title for Portugal. The winger was coming from the bench and was giving 100% of his skills and tactical discipline to help his teammates. Quaresma scored the priceless goal against Croatia in the 117th minute! Then, in the quarterfinals, he scored the winning penalty against Poland and sent his team to the semi-finals.

21. Cedric Soares
Alongside with Fonte, Cedric Soares has been one of the key players for Portugal in defence since the knockout stage of the competition. He also recorded 4 matches, just like his teammate in Southampton.

22. Eduardo (reserve goalkeeper)

23. Adrien Silva
He was a part of the interesting nostrum, Santos used. With the change of the scheme, Silva found his place in the starting eleven for the last 4 games of the competition.

Head coach: Fernando Santos

To begin with, the choice of the players for the squad was very precisely made – Santos used 21 players in the Euro 2016 (without the 2 reserve goalkeepers). We can say a lot of the change of the tactics after the group stage – he changed the scheme to 4-4-2 Diamond. Santos relied on the more defensive approach. He wanted his players to be disciplined and to wait patiently for the goal-scoring chances – something which is not typical for the Portuguese football! Portugal played on counter attacks and with long balls – which again was unexpected for the experts.

At both ends, we can only guess, whether Santos has intensively made his team finish with a draw against Hungary – to find a place in the weaker part of the knockout stage… However, he proved he is a world class manager and deservedly lifted the European championship title!