CRISTIANO who?

Portugal survived the early loss of their captain and star player Cristiano Ronaldo in the Euro 2016 final against France in Paris last night to claim the first major honour in their history after extra-time.

There had been murmurings about Portugal’s presence in the final in the Stade de France given their far from scintillating form in the group stages. They had drawn with minnows Iceland, Austria and Hungary and only qualified as one of the six best third-placed teams.

Yet, there could be no denying their victory, secured by a stunning long-range strike from substitute Eder with 11 minutes remaining, was deserved given the quality of the opposition they defeated, the location of the encounter and the player they had to do without.

France, winners of the European Championship and World Cup in their homeland in 1984 and 1998 respectively and strong pre-match favourites, failed to take advantage of having the vast majority of the 80,000 supporters in Saint-Denis behind them.

This was a painful and, particularly in the circumstances, unexpected defeat for Didier Deschamps’ charges. But they can have no complaints. Their feted front line of OliverAntoine Griezmann and Oliver Giroud failed to convert their superior possession and pressure into goals. They paid the price.

Ronaldo sustained the injury which led to his premature exit from the field after a clumsy challenge for the ball from Dimitri Payet in the eighth minute. He immediately fell to the ground in agony clutching his left knee.

Typically, the Real Madrid forward played on despite his discomfort. But his mobility was severely restricted and he only lasted another 10 minutes before he was ushered off the field in tears to receive further medical attention. He had his knee bandaged and promptly pushed on.

Ronaldo, though, only featured for another five minutes. He sank to the ground as the referee called for a stretcher. He was carried off in considerable distress with his hand covering his face. His team mates, not to mention his side’s supporters, were every bit as distraught.

He had been hoping to help to atone for the defeat which the Portugal team he was a member of had suffered to Greece in the Euro 2004 final in Lisbon. It was, in a cruel twist of fate, not to be. But his team pressed on regardless without their talisman with Ricardo Quaresma of Besiktas replacing him.

Ronaldo’s personal plight was the main talking point of what was a hugely disappointing first half. Griezmann came closest to scoring in the 10th minute when he got on the end of a Payet chip into the Portuguese box and angled a header towards goal.

Rui Patricio did superbly to tip the Atletico Madrid man’s attempt over his crossbar and then to gather an Giroud header from the resulting Payet corner.

At the other end of the park, Hugo Lloris was largely untroubled. His side, with Moussa Sissoko’s powerful surging runs through the middle of the park causing Fernando Santos’s team all kinds of problems, were probably just the better team in the opening 45 minutes.

Deschamps made his first change of the match in the 58th minute when he replaced Payet with Kingsley Coman. The Bayern Munich forward made his presence felt instantly.

Coman’s cross into the box in the 66th minute found Griezmann in space and the diminutive marksman was unfortunate his header just shaved the top of the crossbar. It was the best opportunity of what had been a tense encounter up until that point.

The 20-year-old carved out another chance just nine minutes later. His pass to Giroud in the 75th minute allowed the Arsenal striker to unleash a low left foot drive which forced a fine block from Patricio.

Lloris produced two excellent saves in rapid succession with 10 minutes of regulation time remaining. He scooped a Nani cross out of his goal and then held a spectacular overhead kick from Quaresma.

Sissoko, the Newcastle man who was arguably the outstanding outfield player of the final, tried his luck from 30 yards out with six minutes left after another charge at the Portugal area. The French player’s shot in the 84th minute was palmed wide by that man Patricio. It was his seventh save of the evening.

The Sporting Lisbon keeper, however, nearly conceded in the second minute of injury-time. Andre-Pierre Gignac, who had come on for the injured Giroud, turned Pepe inside the Portugal box and beat Patricio with a shot. He looked on in despair, though, as his shot rebounded off the inside of the post.

The final, then, went to extra-time for only the fifth time in the history of the European Championship. Portugal, who had no substitutes remaining, came closest to scoring in the first period of extra time. Lloris denied an Eder header following an outswinging delivery from Quaresma on the right.

A Raphael free-kick struck the crossbar with a free-kick three minutes after the start of the second period. But it was a poor award by English referee Mark Clattenburg as it was a Portuguese player had handled the ball.

Eder, who had come on for Renato Sanches, struck in the 19th minute. The Lille striker’s sensational strike will have bemused fans of English Premier League club Swansea. The £5 million signing failed to net for them in 15 games before being offloaded last year.

But if he fails to score another goal in his career it will matter little to his countrymen.