Cristiano Ronaldo forced out of Euro final with knee injury
Cristiano Ronaldo was forced out of the Euro 2016 final with a knee injury after only 24 minutes.
Ronaldo injured his left knee after a rough challenge from France midfielder Dimitri Payet just 8 minutes into the game. Ronaldo was in obvious pain instantly, clutching his knee while writhing on the ground. Payet was not called for a foul on the play.
Ronaldo attempted to play through the pain but was clearly not right. He fell to the ground again away from the play after several minutes and began to tear up. He was briefly worked on again and tried to give it one last go, but shortly after signaled to the sideline. He was stretchered off as the Stade de France gave him a rousing ovation.
It was a heartbreaking moment for Ronaldo, Portugal's captain and superstar, who was playing in his second international final, twelve years after losing the 2004 Euro final to Greece as a 19-year-old.
Nani took over the captain's armband for Ronaldo, and the game went into extra time after a goalless 90 minutes. There, Portugal striker Eder scored an unlikely winner in the second half of extra time to deliver the Selecao their first ever title. With Ronaldo cheering all the way from the bench.
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