Man-of-the-match Pepe dedicated Portugal’s 1-0 victory over France in the Euro 2016 final to captain Cristiano Ronaldo, saying: “We said that we’d win it for him.”
Ronaldo, 31, had to be substituted on 25 minutes after earlier suffering a knee injury following a challenge from Dimitri Payet, which had appeared to be a severe setback to Portugal’s hopes.
However, France were unable to break the deadlock, with substitute Andre-Pierre Gignac coming closest when he struck the inside of the post in the 92nd minute, and Portugal grew increasingly confident in extra time.
Shortly after Raphael Guerreiro had hit the crossbar with a free kick on 108 minutes, substitute forward Eder fired a fine long-range strike past Hugo Lloris to give Portugal the lead, and a strong defensive showing denied the hosts the chance to draw level.
Pepe admitted losing Real Madrid teammate Ronaldo had been a major setback but said the players were motivated to win it in his absence.
“It was tough because we lost our main man,” Pepe said. “The man who could at any moment score a goal. He could make the difference.
“But God helped us and we were warriors on the pitch. We said that we’d win it for him. We managed to win it for him and we’ve all earned this.”
Portugal had never before won a major international tournament but finished runners-up at Euro 2004 and had been semifinalists at the 1966 World Cup as well as the European Championships in 1984, 2000 and 2012.
“We wrote a brilliant page in the book of Portuguese football history,” Pepe said. “None of us will ever forget this title. It’s an unforgettable evening for us.”
He also praised Portugal coach Fernando Santos, saying the former Greece boss “set us up very well strategically” after the break.
“It was a Plan B if you like because he moved the team around very well,” he added. “The right subs came on at the right time and we put our blood, sweat and tears on the pitch.”
