Éderzito António Macedo Lopes, the Portuguese player who stepped off the bench to score an extra-time winner against France on Sunday, has revealed that Ronaldo told him he would score.
Eder, the Lille striker who was dumped by Swansea earlier this season after failing to score in 15 games, said Ronaldo’s words of inspiration gave him the energy to score the winner.
“Cristiano told me that I would score when I came on and I just took that energy into my game,”Eder told FIFA.com after Portugal’s unlikely triumph.
“He told me I would score the winning goal for the team. He gave me this strength, this energy; and it was vital.
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“We weren’t the best technical team, but we worked for one another. Since the coach arrived he believed this group could do this.”
He added that the entire team trusted in him, even if he had seen little gate time in the lead-up to the final.
“They trust me and I have worked hard to contribute and today it was possible. I’m very happy about what we’ve achieved,” he said
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“We went through a difficult spell after Ronaldo’s injury, because he’s the best player in the world and an important player for us. But after that he still gave us all his strength and bravery, and we got this important victory, both for him and all of Portugal.
“It was an amazing moment. Our team worked really hard. We knew that the Portuguese people were behind us. The Portuguese people deserve this.”
Eder’s dramatic extra time winner clinched victory for Portugal to upset France hosts with many players left in tears at the end.
Eder was born in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, but he moved to Portugal as a child, and started playing football with Associação Desportiva e Cultural da Adémia in the Coimbra District at the age of 11.
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