¡Viva La Rafalution!

NEWCASTLE UNITED

Last season 18th + FA Cup 3rd round + League Cup 3rd round + Last major trophy Fairs Cup 1969
Manager Rafael Benítez (since March 2016)
Players In Matz Sels, Matt Ritchie, Dwight Gayle, Jesús Gámez, Isaac Hayden, Grant Hanley, Ciaran Clark, Mohamed Diamé
Players Out Sylvain Marveaux, Gabriel Obertan, Steven Taylor, Andros Townsend, Fabricio Coloccini, Papiss Cissé, Georginio Wijnaldum, Rémy Cabella, Florian Thauvin
Pre-season results
W6-0 v Bohemian (A)
D2-2 v Doncaster Rovers (A)
W4-0 v Sporting Lokeren (A)
W2-0 v Southend United (A)
W3-2 v Vitesse Arnhem (H)

NEWCASTLE UNITED begin their quest for promotion from the Championship as clear favourites for an immediate return to the Premier League. 

Relegated from the top flight for the second time in seven years in May, the last campaign was a catalogue of missed targets on and off the field under hapless - and hopeless - former England manager Steve McClaren.

The Magpies won just nine league games all season and collected only 37 points to finish two behind local rivals Sunderland who scraped survival yet again.

But, despite all of this, the hope on Tyneside is definitely back, as clearly evidenced by the huge upturn in ticket sales. 

With a month still to go, more than 33,000 season tickets had been sold for St James Park, an increase on this time last year. 

Indeed, that figure means there will be more season ticket holders at Newcastle than at Tottenham Hotspur or Chelsea, and more than at Watford, Burnley, West Bromwich Albion and Bournemouth put together.

Of course, this will not stop some supporters of other clubs taking precious time out of their seemingly hopelessly empty lives to throw a quick jibe in the direction of Newcastle.

This is especially prevalent on social media platforms - so credit must go to this supporter for turning the insults into a potentially thrilling game of bingo...

On a more serious note, however, it is great to see the hierachy at the club once again engaging with the fanbase.

A crowd-funded exercise to improve the matchday experience, Gallowgate Flags, has been given the board's blessing - and, for the first time in years, it feels as if everyone is pulling in the same direction.

Rarely in life nowadays are simple narratives able to tell the whole story.

Undoubtedly, though, this frenzied outpouring of genuine excitement can all be credited to one man and one man only - former Liverpool, Chelsea and Real Madrid coach Rafael Benítez. 

As feared, the Spaniard ultimately arrived too late last season to do enough to save the Magpies from going down.

Nevertheless, a campaign of failure finished on an incredible high as Newcastle hammered third-placed Tottenham 5-1 on a sunny day amid a glorious atmosphere. 

Almost all of the ear-tingling crowd noise that day focused on encouraging Benítez to stay - and so there was a massive sense of satisfaction when the serial winner duly signed a three-year contract on 25 May.

The decision - surely helped by the atmosphere against Spurs - confirmed to any remaining doubters that Benítez gets what this club is about. He just knows exactly what it means to the people of Tyneside.

Since then, the mutual goodwill has continued.

On 17 July, he posted a short anniversary tribute on his personal blog to Liam Sweeney and John Alder, the two Newcastle fans killed when their Malaysia Airways flight MH17 was shot out of the sky over Ukraine in 2014.

And, on a happier note, he also appeared on a BBC Radio Newcastle phone-in in which he revealed the prize fact that his house on Merseyside is coincidentally called Lindisfarne.

Most importantly of all, though, Benítez - on the football front - appears to be the first manager who has the total trust of owner Mike Ashley to build his own team and squad.

Inevitably, following relegation, there have been some departures from that squad. At least though, the sales of Andros Townsend and Georginio Wijnaldum both fetched good fees.

Additionally, the sight of the likes of Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini, Florian Thauvin and Papiss Cissé heading for the exit door has hardly caused too much heartache.

Instead, the focus largely has been on the replacements. 

New number nine Dwight Gayle looks lightning quick in the mode of Craig Bellamy, while the pedigree of Matt Ritchie at this level is undoubted.

Scotland international Ritchie scored 15 goals and assisted 17 more in his last season at this level when he won the Championship with Bournemouth, and he has the potential to be the best player in the division.

Of the other signings, midfielder Isaac Hayden looks comfortable on the ball, as you would expect with him having arrived from Arsenal.

The likes of Jesús Gámez, Grant Hanley, and Ciaran Clark add some much-needed depth to the defence, and Mohamed Diamé has clearly been lined up as a replacement for long-time wantaway Moussa Sissoko.

Just as important has been the retentions so far of Ayoze Pérez and Aleksandar Mitrović up front, as well as Chancel Mbemba and Daryl Janmaat at the back.

The squad, without doubt, is the strongest in the division - and it is led by one of the most decorated managers which the second tier has ever seen in its history.

Nonetheless, that does not mean there are no worries whatsoever.

An encouraging pre-season against largely weak opposition saw no fewer than 17 goals scored - but, of more concern, all four conceded came from set-pieces.

The defence thus remains an area of weakness, and it is not a weakness which has necessarily been alleviated by the signings of Clark or Hanley.

Clark, in kind with most of his team-mates at Aston Villa last season, made some dreadful errors throughout - while Hanley has already played four seasons with Blackburn Rovers at this level without much success.

The hope at the back therefore remains with Mbemba, if he stays, and the new club Jamaal Lascelles who, at 22, has quickly developed into a much-needed on-pitch leader.

Up front, it remains to be seen if any of the main strikers - Gayle, Pérez or Mitrović - are going to be prolific enough to fire Newcastle to the top of the league.

None of their records so far suggests so - and Mitrović, in particular, simply must learn from the sort of mistakes which have given him a stupidly extended pre-season this summer.

The last worry is an unknown which Newcastle cannot control, and that is the sheer unpredictability of the Championship.

Although that sounds like a bit of a cliché - and to some extent it is one - it is nevertheless true that the nature of a 46-game season allows every single team in the division to run into a cycle of good form at some point. 

It always helps to play the right teams at the right time - and, on that basis, a little luck will be necessary.

On top of that, the number of fixtures means there are many more midweek matches. 

In the Championship, a cold Tuesday night in Barnsley or Wigan is not a line delivered by a pub bore arguing about Lionel Messi but a reality which the players must face.

Interestingly, three of the four losses suffered by Chris Hughton's 2009/10 champions came on midweek evenings - at Blackpool in September, Scunthorpe United in October, and Derby County in February.

Even the famous Kevin Keegan-led vintage of 1992/93 also had a few games to forget before a dozen Andy Cole goals spearheaded a rousing finish.

What was ultimately important about those two seasons, though, was that both of those teams won the second tier and actually both quite comfortably in the end.

With confidence in the city sky-high, all the cards are in Benítez's favour to do it again. 

Newcastle United now must hold their nerve and play it right.


NUFC 2016-17 FIXTURE LIST

Date	KO	TV/Cup			Scorers	Att
05-Aug	7.45pm	Sky	Fulham (A)	0-1		23,922
13-Aug			Huddersfield Town (H)	1-2	Gayle	52,079
17-Aug	7.45pm		Reading (H)	4-1	Hayden, Ritchie, Gayle 2	48,209
20-Aug			Bristol City (A)	1-0	Gayle	22,512
23-Aug	7.45pm	LC2	Cheltenham Town (H)	2-0	Perez 2	21,972
27-Aug	5.30pm	Sky	Brighton & Hove Albion (H)	2-0	Lascelles, Shelvey	49,196
10-Sep	5.30pm	Sky	Derby County (A)	2-0	Gouffran, Yedlin	30,405
13-Sep	7.45pm		Queens Park Rangers (A)	6-0	Shelvey 2, Perez, Clark Mitrovic, Hanley	17,404
17-Sep			Wolverhampton Wanderers (H)	0-2		52,117
20-Sep	7.45pm	LC3	Wolverhampton Wanderers (H)	2-0	Ritchie, Gouffran	34,735
24-Sep	5.30pm	Sky	Aston Villa (A)	1-1	own goal (Elphick)	32,062
28-Sep	7.45pm		Norwich City (H)	4-3	Gayle 3, Gouffran	48,236
01-Oct			Rotherham United (A)	1-0	Atsu	11,653
15-Oct			Brentford (H)	3-1	Clark, Gayle 2	51,885
18-Oct	7.45pm		Barnsley (A)	2-0	Gayle 2	18,597
22-Oct			Ipswich Town (H)	3-0	Perez 2, Ritchie	51,963
25-Oct	7.45pm	LC4	Preston North End (H)	6-0	Mitrovic 2, Diame 2, Ritchie, Perez	49,042
29-Oct			Preston North End (A)	2-1	Mitrovic 2	20,724
05-Nov			Cardiff City (H)	2-1	Atsu, Gouffran	51,257
20-Nov	1.15pm	Sky	Leeds United (A)	2-0	Gayle 2	36,002
26-Nov			Blackburn Rovers (H)	0-1		52,092
29-Nov	7.45pm	LCQF	Hull City (A)	1-1*	Diame	16,243
02-Dec	7.45pm	Sky	Nottingham Forest (A)	1-2	Ritchie	21,317
10-Dec			Birmingham City (H)	4-0	Gayle 3, Gouffran	52,145
14-Dec	7.45pm	Sky	Wigan Athletic (A)	2-0	Diame, Atsu	14,562
17-Dec			Burton Albion (A)	2-1	Gayle, Diame	6,665
26-Dec	7.45pm	Sky	Sheffield Wednesday (H)	0-1		52,179
30-Dec	7.45pm		Nottingham Forest (H)	3-1	Ritchie, Gayle 2	52,228
02-Jan		Sky	Blackburn Rovers (A)	0-1		18,254
07-Jan		FAC3	Birmingham City (A)	1-1	Murphy	13,171
14-Jan			Brentford (A)	2-1	Gayle, Murphy	11,435
18-Jan	7.45pm	FAC3R	Birmingham City (A)	3-1	Ritchie 2, Gouffran	34,896
21-Jan			Rotherham United (H)	4-0	Murphy, Ritchie 2, Perez	52,208
28-Jan		FAC4	Oxford United (A)	0-3		11,810
01-Feb	7.45pm		Queens Park Rangers (H)	2-2	Shelvey, Ritchie	47,909
04-Feb			Derby County (H)	1-0	Ritchie	52,271
11-Feb	5.30pm	Sky	Wolverhampton Wanderers (A)	1-0	Mitrovic	24,876
14-Feb	7.45pm		Norwich City (A)	2-2	Perez, Lascelles	26,841
20-Feb	8.00pm	Sky	Aston Villa (H)	2-0	Gouffran, own goal (Lansbury)	50,024
25-Feb			Bristol City (H)	2-2	own goal (Smith), Clark	52,131
28-Feb	7.45pm	Sky	Brighton & Hove Albion (A)	2-1	Diame, Perez	30,230
04-Mar	5.30pm	Sky	Huddersfield Town (A)	3-1	Ritchie, Murphy, Gayle	23,213
07-Mar	8.00pm		Reading (A)	0-0		23,121
11-Mar			Fulham (H)	1-3	Murphy	51,903
18-Mar			Birmingham City (A)	0-0		19,796
01-Apr			Wigan Athletic (H)	2-1	Gayle, Ritchie	51,849
05-Apr	7.45pm		Burton Albion (H)	1-0	Ritchie 2	48,814
08-Apr	5.30pm	Sky	Sheffield Wednesday (A)	1-2	Shelvey	28,883
14-Apr	7.45pm	Sky	Leeds United (H)	1-1	Lascelles	52,301
17-Apr			Ipswich Town (A)	1-3	Murphy	25,684
24-Apr	7.45pm	Sky	Preston North End (H)	4-1	Perez 2, Atsu, Ritchie	50,212
28-Apr	7.45pm	Sky	Cardiff City (A)	2-0	Atsu, Hayden	23,153
07-May	12pm		Barnsley (H)	3-0	Perez, Mbemba, Gayle	52,276

Kick-off 3pm unless stated. NUFC score listed first. Sky appearances: 17
*after extra time. Lost 1-3 on penalties.

SCORERS
23 Dwight Gayle
16 Matt Ritchie
12 Ayoze Perez
7 Yoan Gouffran
6 Mohamed Diame, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Daryl Murphy
5 Christian Atsu, Jonjo Shelvey
3 Ciaran Clark, Jamaal Lascelles
2 Isaac Hayden
1 Grant Hanley, Chancel Mbemba, DeAndre Yedlin 
3 own goals
Total goals: 100

50 years of hurt

WORLD CUP FINAL

Saturday 30 July 1966

 
England 4 Hurst 18, 101, 120, Peters 78
West Germany 2 Haller 12, Weber 89
After extra time

England Banks - Cohen, J Charlton, Moore (c), Wilson - Stiles, Ball, R Charlton, Peters - Hurst, Hunt. Booked Peters Manager Alf Ramsey
West Germany Tilkowski - Höttges, Schulz, Weber, Schnellinger - Beckenbauer, Overath - Haller, Seeler (c), Held, Emmerich Manager Helmut Schön
Attendance 96,924 at Wembley Stadium, London Referee Gottfried Dienst (Switzerland)
Kick-off 3pm BST. Live on BBC and ITV.

ENGLAND won the World Cup on this day 50 years ago, beating stubborn West Germany 4-2 at Wembley after extra time.

Geoff Hurst scored a famous hat-trick, Martin Peters got the other goal and thus ensured a third West Ham United man, captain Bobby Moore, lifted the Jules Rimet trophy.

The Germans were a good but not yet a great team. Aged 20, future star Franz Beckenbauer was still just a youngster.

Nevertheless, the visitors gave England a scare by taking an early lead and then, much later, equalising with seconds left from a set-piece.

In between, England played generally well - Hurst scored his first with a glancing header from a floated Moore free-kick before Peters looked to have won it with a low half-volley from eight yards in the 78th minute.

It was never going to be that easy, though. Germany equalised - and yet, far from deflating the English players, the late German goal actually seemed to galvanise Alf Ramsey's men.

Of course, the controversy over Hurst's second goal to make it 3-2 goes on to this day.

So it was a good job then that he added his third and England's fourth in comprehensive fashion, made especially famous by Kenneth Wolstenholme's line: "They think it's all over. It is now."

Sadly, that is as good as it has ever got for English football.

By contrast, for Germany, the 1966 Final was just a starting point. The Germans - either as West Germany or as a unified team - have since won the World Cup three times in 1974, 1990 and 2014, having previously won it in 1954.

Additionally, the Nationalmannschaft have also been European Championship winners in 1972, 1980 and on English soil in 1996.

Moreover, their overall record is superb - they have reached at least the semi finals of the World Cup on 10 occasions and at least the semi finals of the Euros on nine occasions in the last 50 years, including a run of the last six consecutive tournaments under Joachim Löw.

In short, if anything, Germany are guilty of not having won even more.

England, of course, have won nothing in that timeframe, and have only made three semi final appearances in the last 50 years - in 1968, 1990 and 1996.

Now, if anything, the Three Lions are getting further away - at least in those painful 1990s shootout defeats to Germany, there was genuine hope that it might be different next time.

The mood in those days was perfectly summed up by the bittersweet refrain of Three Lions by Frank Skinner, David Baddiel and the Lightning Seeds: "Thirty years of hurt, never stopped me dreaming".

However, no matter how many times England fans closed their eyes to dream, no trophy ever arrived.

As a reaction, in the early 2000s, the Football Association (FA) took a step to change the years of failure but courted controversy by appointing a foreigner in the role of head coach for the first time.

Sven-Göran Eriksson's tenure lasted five years - and, while he ended up generating as many stories about his lurid private life as anything on the pitch, his record was at least respectable.

The Swede oversaw three successive quarter finals with England only beaten by eventual winners Brazil in 2002 before two more shootout defeats, both to Portugal, in 2004 and 2006.

Even this relatively modest level now appears difficult for England to achieve on a consistent basis.

In the last 10 years, there has been only one run to the last eight of a tournament - that came in 2012 and was somewhat unexpected given that Roy Hodgson had just taken over.

England failed to qualify for Euro 2008 under the instruction of the wally with the brolley, Steve McClaren.

Meanwhile, the 2010 and 2014 World Cup campaigns also both ended badly - the first with a 4-1 reverse to Germany in Bloemfontein, and the latter with a first group stage exit since 1958.

Such a thorough lack of achievement is branded "a national disgrace" by Daily Telegraph writer Henry Winter in the introduction of his excellent book, also called Fifty Years of Hurt.

Winter adds: "Wembley stands as part-shrine to 1966 and part-monument to catastrophe."

Now Winter's book was released prior to this summer's finals in France where England undoubtedly recorded the worst result in their finals history since the infamous 1-0 defeat to the United States at the 1950 World Cup.

There can be no doubt about it - that humiliating 2-1 loss to Iceland, just over four weeks ago, was so laughably terrible that it deserves to be ranked alongside the defeat to the Americans.

It should therefore also be seen as a watershed moment.

Already, though, the actions of the FA directors suggest they are content again with just muddling through and hoping for the best.

Indeed, outside of the fact that he is an Englishman, the appointment of the self-styled Big Sam Allardyce - that purveyor of a soul-destroying, long-ball game - makes no sense at all.

As a Newcastle United fan, it would be fair to say that this correspondent does not have an unbiased opinion of the Dudley-born 61-year-old.

However, I do write from a position of having experienced Allardyce as the manager of the club which I support, albeit for a thankfully short period of six months.

In that time, Newcastle found themselves 3-0 down to Portsmouth at home in eight minutes - and, a few weeks later, failed to have a single shot on target or a corner in a meek surrender to Liverpool at home.

The final score was 3-0 to the Reds but it was a result which could have been doubled at least.

Then, in January, the Magpies played for a 0-0 draw away at then-Championship Stoke City in the FA Cup. It was to be Allardyce's final game at the club.

Nevertheless, his reign at Newcastle will be most remembered on Tyneside for the two games against Derby County.

Derby were the worst team which the top flight of English football has even seen, collecting 11 points all season. Four of them came from Newcastle.

The first three came in a 1-0 away defeat on a bitterly cold September night in Derby. Kenny Miller scored the winner as the Rams' recorded their only win of the season.

Then, in the return game in December at St James Park, Newcastle twice had to battle from a goal down to rescue a point. Mark Viduka struck the second equaliser with three minutes left.

So, in 180 minutes of football against the worst side ever in the Premier League, Allardyce and his team were ahead for precisely none of them. The disbelief lingers even now.

All of that was almost 10 years ago - so, to be fairer to him, let us take a look at his more recent managerial spells.

At West Ham, he failed ever to win the backing of the majority of supporters even when he had guided the team into the top four at Christmas in 2014-15.

Hammers fans knew the form could not be sustained - and, following a run of only three league wins and 11 defeats after the turn of the year, the Londoners finished 12th. It was time for Allardyce to go.

Happily for him, he was not out of work long as a struggling Sunderland side turned to him salvation.

Allardyce achieved his goal of keeping the Black Cats in the Premier League, something for which he has been lauded.

But safety for the Wearsiders only came in the final week of the season, despite him having been in charge for 30 of the 38 league games. They ultimately finished 17th having won nine games.

Is that really enough even to be considered for what is meant to be the top football job in the country?

Apparently it is - but the appointment of Allardyce will do nothing to resolve England's inherent weaknesses.

As proven by the performances of many of the players in the Premier League, the national team does not lack in ability.

It does, however, lack bottle in that it fears taking risks on the field and, worst of all, outright panics at the slightest hint of a setback.

The second half headless chicken chasing in the Iceland match was perhaps the biggest example of this but there have been countless others over the years.

Brash Allardyce - with all of his bravado - may seem, on the surface, to be the ideal character to help England overcome their psychological barriers.

But hitting long passes into channels and sitting deep only ever provides a thin veneer of bravery. Eventually it will crumble.

It perhaps explains why Glenn Hoddle is still curiously admired by many England fans, notwithstanding his clearly questionable personal beliefs.

In football terms, though, Hoddle knew his stuff. His rearguard tactics away to Italy in the 1998 World Cup qualifiers and against Argentina with 10 men in the finals themselves were both notable for the way England never stopped trying to play passing football.

Hoddle, however, has been out of the game for too long now - and then there are those inescapably unacceptable views on the disabled.

Nevertheless, someone like Hoddle - a coach who would eliminate the fear felt by players by giving them genuine confidence on the ball - is who England should have been looking at.

For that is real bravery in football - wanting the ball and then expressing yourself with it, actually enjoying the occasion and the challenge rather than worrying about what people might think.

Of course, with no obvious Englishman meeting that criteria expect perhaps for the hugely inexperienced Eddie Howe at Bournemouth, that would obviously have meant another foreign-born coach.

Unlike Fabio Capello, it would have needed to be a coach who knew about English football - but, like Capello, someone who has also been a winner.

Even set against those requirements, there were still a few valid candidates - former Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini or, better still, an audacious attempt could have been made to pull Arsene Wenger out of his comfort zone at Arsenal.

Instead, shamefully and indeed shamelessly, the FA has made another pathetically short-sighted decision.

Allardyce - unless he fails massively like McClaren - will no doubt do enough to scrape England to the finals.

But qualification will be secured amid a set of uninspiring performances, with perhaps a couple of dodgy away results thrown in for good measure.

Once at the finals, the Three Lions will revert to their usual fearful selves, either losing a game they should win or by meekly ceding the ball to a superior team.

Certainly, it does not feel as if the 50 years of hurt are going to end any time soon. Never stopped me dreaming? Pah.

English football - for all the riches of its top division - is now enduring a living nightmare.

Froome completes Tour de France hat-trick

CHRIS FROOME completed a Tour de France hat-trick today after crossing the line on the Champs-Élysées in Paris safely wearing the yellow jersey.

Team Sky cyclist Froome - who previously won the event in 2013 and 2015 - finished more than four minutes ahead of his nearest rivals, Frenchman Romain Bardet and Colombian Nairo Quintana.

Another Briton, Adam Yates of Orica-BikeExchange, was fourth overall and took the white jersey, awarded since 1975 to the Tour's best rider aged under 26.

Those prizes capped another superb three weeks overall for British cycling in a Tour which has featured no fewer than seven stage wins for Britons.

Meanwhile, the two other jersey winners were both from the Tinkoff team. Poland's Rafał Majka took the King of the Mountains award while Slovakian Peter Sagan won a fifth consecutive green jersey in the points competition.

Despite that fact, points jersey rival Mark Cavendish can still be pleased with his efforts over the last few weeks in France.

The Manx Missile won the opening stage to wear yellow himself for the first time ever, and further victories on stages three, six, and 14 took his overall career tally to 30. Only legendary Belgian Eddy Merckx, with 34, now has more.

At the second rest day on 19 July, Cavendish understandably withdrew from this gruelling challenge with a view of turning his focus to the Rio 2016 Olympics, now less than two weeks away.

And so, for now, Froome deservedly takes the limelight. Indeed, of his trio of triumphs, this was surely his most assured.

Froome, in customary style, first took control of this year's contest in the mountains with the pack taking on the Pyrenees from stage eight.

Immediately, Froome sensed a chance to gain an advantage and broke away himself from a breakaway group of 14 riders on the descent into Bagnères-de-Luchon.

His reward was a sixth career stage victory on the Tour - and the still more valuable prize of the yellow jersey and a nascent lead of 16 seconds.

That lead would grow heading out of the mountains on stage 11 between Carcassonne and Montpellier, and then it would increase again in unusual circumstances on what would become a fateful Bastille Day in France.

The course for the stage on 14 July had already been adjusted by Tour organisers with high winds preventing a full ascent to the summit of the notorious Mont Ventoux.

Instead, the 12th stage was shortened by 6 km though it still finished at a height of 1,435 metres (4,708 ft) at Chalet Reynard.

But, while the stage had been cut, the size of the big holiday crowd remained the same, and unfortunately they caused all manner of chaos as the climb reached its climax.

The problems arose when a motorbike in front of the three leading riders of the day - Froome, Richie Porte, and Bauke Mollema - could not get through the throng. On stopping suddenly, all three riders ploughed into the back of the bike and therefore crashed.

Mollema was able to get back in the saddle and quickly ride off, but Porte and Froome were both delayed, especially Froome whose bike was badly damaged.

In remarkable scenes, the defending champion then decided to run up Mont Ventoux, ultimately finishing the stage one minute and 40 seconds behind Mollema. Vitally, the result also meant he provisionally ceded the yellow jersey to Yates.

Unsurprisingly, Team Sky appealed - and, after the incident was reviewed, a jury granted both Froome and Porte the same time as Mollema, who had finished ahead of the main field despite the crash.

The judgement restored the yellow jersey again to Froome, and also gave him time on both Yates and Quintana. It was, no doubt, a moment of relief for the leader.

Overnight, however, came a moment of horror which put any controversy surrounding the timings on the Tour de France firmly into perspective.

In Nice, on the south coast, a 19-tonne cargo truck was deliberately driven into crowds celebrating Bastille Day by an Islamic State terrorist Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel.

The attack, on the Promenade des Anglais in the city centre, killed 84 people and injured 303, and so became the latest in a series of tragedies to scar France.

Undaunted, the show went on - and, on stage 15, Froome made yet more time on his nearest competitors by finishing second in an individual time trial.

At the podium ceremony, however, there was no music played, no presentation of the sponsors, and all the jersey winners walked onto the stage together, in silence.

A few days on the flat allowed the likes of Cavendish and Sagan to take centre stage again briefly.

But, following the second rest day, Froome nailed home his advantage with time gains on stages 17, 18 and 19.

Stage 18, indeed, was a second victory of the race for Froome as he dominated a short mountainous time trial up to the summit of the Côte des Chozeaux.

The lead was up to nearly four minutes, and any chance of the competition reeling in Froome had basically disappeared.

Thereafter, all the 31-year-old had to do was stay upright on his bike heading into Paris - and, unsurprisingly, Froome found such a task to be a breeze.

Drinking beer as well as the traditional champagne as he headed for the Champs-Élysées, Froome was met at the finish line by his wife Michelle and seven-month first child, Kellan.

It was a touching moment - and it was followed by a highly emotional speech in which he thanked his team-mates and his family before paying tribute to the victims in Nice.

Froome may represent British success - but, having become the first man in over 20 years to defend his title legally, he has also now gained legendary status in France.

And, with the French public still impatiently waiting for a first home winner since 1985, that is no mean feat.

DAY-BY-DAY

		Route	Dist	Winner	Yellow jersey	Lead
01	02-Jul	Mont Saint-Michel to Utah Beach, Sainte-Marie-du-Mont	188km	Cavendish	Cavendish	+4"
02	03-Jul	Saint-Lô to Cherbourg-Octeville	183km	Sagan	Sagan	+8"
03	04-Jul	Granville to Angers	223.5km	Cavendish	Sagan	+8"
04	05-Jul	Saumur to Limoges	237.5km	Kittel	Sagan	+12"
05	06-Jul	Limoges to Le Lioran	216km	Van Avermaet	Van Avermaet	+5'11"
06	07-Jul	Arpajon-sur-Cère to Montauban	190.5km	Cavendish	Van Avermaet	+5'11"
07	08-Jul	L'Isle-Jourdain to Lac de Payolle	162.5km	Cummings	Van Avermaet	+5'50"
08	09-Jul	Pau to Bagnères-de-Luchon	184km	Froome	Froome	+16"
09	10-Jul	Vielha Val d'Aran (ESP) to Andorra-Arcalis (AND)	184.5km	Dumoulin	Froome	+16"
Rest	11-Jul	Andorra (rest day)	-
10	12-Jul	Escaldes-Engordany (AND) to Revel	197km	Matthews	Froome	+16"
11	13-Jul	Carcassonne to Montpellier	162.5km	Sagan	Froome	+28"
12	14-Jul	Montpellier to Chalet Reynard	178km	De Gendt	Froome	+47"
13	15-Jul	Bourg-Saint-Andéol to La Caverne du Pont-d'Arc	37.5km	Dumoulin	Froome	+1'47"
14	16-Jul	Montélimar to Villars-les-Dombes	208.5km	Cavendish	Froome	+1'47"
15	17-Jul	Bourg-en-Bresse to Culoz	160km	Pantano	Froome	+1'47"
16	18-Jul	Moirans-en-Montagne to Bern (SUI)	209km	Sagan	Froome	+1'47"
Rest	19-Jul	Bern (SUI) (rest day)	-
17	20-Jul	Bern (SUI) to Finhaut-Émosson (SUI)	184.5km	Zakarin	Froome	+2'27"
18	21-Jul	Sallanches to Megève	17km	Froome	Froome	+3'52"
19	22-Jul	Albertville to Saint-Gervais-les-Bains	146km	Bardet	Froome	+4'11"
20	23-Jul	Megève to Morzine	146.5km	Izagirre	Froome	+4'05"
21	24-Jul	Chantilly to Paris Champs-Élysées	113km	Griepel	Froome	+4'05"

FINAL STANDINGS
General classification Yellow jersey

Pos		Team	Time
(1)	Chris FROOME (GBR)	Team Sky	89h 04'48"
(2)	Romain BARDET (FRA)	AG2R La Mondiale	+4'05"
(3)	Nairo QUINTANA (COL)	Movistar	+4'21"
(4)	Adam YATES (GBR)	Orica-BikeExchange	+4'42"
(5)	Richie PORTE (AUS)	BMC Racing Team	+5'17"

Points classification Green jersey

Pos		Team	Points
(1)	Peter SAGAN (SVK)	Tinkoff	470
(2)	Marcel KITTEL (GER)	Etixx-Quick-Step	228
(3)	Michael MATTHEWS (AUS)	Orica-BikeExchange	199
(4)	André GREIPEL (GER)	Lotto-Soudal	178
(5)	Alexander KRISTOFF (NOR)	Team Katusha	172

Mountains classification Red polka-dot jersey

Pos		Team	Points
(1)	Rafał MAJKA (POL)	Tinkoff	209
(2)	Thomas DE GENDT (BEL)	Lotto-Soudal	130
(3)	Jarlinson PANTANO (COL)	IAM Cycling	121
(4)	Ilnur ZAKARIN (RUS)	Team Katusha	84
(5)	Rui COSTA (POR)	Lampre-Merida	76

Young riders classification White jersey

Pos		Team	Time
(1)	Adam YATES (GBR)	Orica-BikeExchange	89h 09'30"
(2)	Louis MEINTJES (RSA)	Lampre-Merida	+2'16"
(3)	Emanuel BUCHMANN (GER)	Bora-Argon 18	+42'58"
(4)	Warren BARGUIL (FRA)	Giant-Alpecin	+47'32"
(5)	Wilco KELDERMAN (NED)	LottoNL-Jumbo	+1h 19'56"

The Brexit month of political May-hem

THERESA MAY has officially taken over as the 75th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on another extraordinary day of British politics in Westminster.

Mrs May entered Downing Street shortly after her predecessor David Cameron made his last appearance at the despatch box at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons.

And the handover is quite appropriate, for this whole tumult was set in motion by Mr Cameron as long ago as January 2013.

It was back then that he vowed to hold a referendum on British membership of the European Union if the Conservatives got a majority in the General Election.

At the time, it was a political gamble aimed at keeping his backbenchers on side while stopping the drift of Tory voters towards UKIP.

But, when he made the announcement, a Conservative majority government actually did not look too likely.

Then, May 2015 happened.

Labour had collapsed to the Scottish Nationalists north of the border and the Liberal Democrats were utterly routed across the country generally, but particularly against the Conservatives in the south west.

Somehow, Mr Cameron had eked out a majority of 12 and so had to deliver on a promise which he did not think he would ever have to keep.

Unconvincing negotiations with fellow EU leaders followed - and, having played hardball and gained nothing but the most measly of compromises, Mr Cameron then awkwardly had to campaign to stay in.

Almost immediately, he unsurprisingly ran into trouble.

For, if it was not bad enough having the then-UKIP leader Nigel Farage leading the Leave campaign, the loss of support from his old friend Boris Johnson was perhaps an early blow from which the Remainers never recovered.

Mr Johnson, of course, had acted purely in self-interest, as proven by the overtures he had previously made towards the EU when he was London mayor.

But his overwhelming desire for job of Prime Minister outweighed everything else, and his ultimate personal failure - to which I will come - was stunning and oddly satisfying, given his hypocrisy.

Mr Johnson nevertheless played an important part for the Leave team, although both campaigns were surely among the most shoddily ever run by mainstream British politicians.

The Remain side - in a move labelled Project Fear by its opponents - seemed only to warn of the dire consequences of leaving the EU. None of its benefits was mentioned.

Meanwhile, the Leavers provided hardly any vision at all of what a post-Brexit Britain would look like - as would become apparent in the days ahead.

Indeed, much of the media coverage focused on what appeared to be a battle for the Conservative leadership between the incumbents Mr Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne on one side and Mr Johnson and Michael Gove on the other.

Ultimately, as predicted, most people were left thorough confused or just totally disenchanted with the debate, and so understandably went with their gut feeling on 23 June.

That gut feeling was to leave the EU.

The margin of victory for the Leavers - by 52% to 48% or approximately 1.3m votes - was not exactly huge but the fact that it happened at all made it a truly momentous event in the history of Britain.

Mr Cameron, swayed by weakness to promise a vote in the first place, had suddenly never been weaker.

So, unsurprisingly on the morning of 24 June, he felt he had no other option but to resign as a failure, offering to stay on until October in a caretaker capacity.

And it was at this point that the real power games began.

Slowly but surely, the candidates for the Conservative leadership lined themselves up with the contest expected to be between Mrs May, a Remain supporter, and Mr Johnson.

Naturally, Mr Johnson had backed on receiving the support of his Leave colleague Mr Gove.

But on 30 June, just three hours before the nominations closed, Mr Gove announced his own candidacy having come to the conclusion that Mr Johnson could not "provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead”.

The Telegraph described the move by Mr Gove as "the most spectacular political assassination in a generation" - and it was indeed a deliciously premature end to the Johnson campaign before the contest had even properly begun.

Historically, a streak of ruthlessness seems to have been admired by the Conservatives.

Witness the ascent and the downfall of Margaret Thatcher or, more recently, the removal of Iain Duncan-Smith as leader even before he could fight a General Election.

However, Mr Gove had even been too brutal for a Tory - and, after Dr Liam Fox had been eliminated and outsider Stephen Crabb had withdrawn following the first ballot on 5 July, he was soundly beaten in the second vote on 7 July.

Mrs May unsurprisingly finished top, with the backing of 199 MPs - but second place went to a largely previously unheralded Leave campaigner Andrea Leadsom.

Mrs Leadsom picked up 84 votes, against Mr Gove's 46 - and so ensured that, by September, Britain would have its second female Prime Minister.

Except it has all happened rather more quicker than that. Mrs Leadsom, like Icarus before her, has already burned her wings having flown too close to the sun in her rapid ascent.

Rather than The Sun, though, it was instead a problem with the Times - with whom she had given an interview (£) which was published on 9 July.

In the interview, Mrs Leadsom made the highly controversial statement that she would be better placed to lead the country because she has children, whereas Mrs May does not.

Under pressure, she hurriedly denied the claim and ordered the newspaper to publish the full transcript. But the transcript duly followed and did not contradict anything which had been printed.

Subsequently, Mrs Leadsom demanded the Times release the audio of the interview - if anything, though, this further weakened her case, given the emphasis which she placed on her point.

And so, after a weekend of scrutiny - or abuse, according to Mrs Leadsom - the MP for South Northamptonshire officially ended her campaign on Monday.

Mrs May was in the clear.

Of course, the new PM does not exactly take over from a position of strength.

It became evident within hours that some of the promises which the Leave campaigners had made in the run-up to the vote were - and there is no other way of putting this - a pack of lies.

Within hours of winning the referendum on 24 June, Mr Farage - who, in the meantime, has stepped down from his position as UKIP leader for the umpteenth time - denied £350m per week would now be spent on the National Health Service.

Then, the next day, Conservative MEP and Leave campaigner Daniel Hannan suggested that there would not be a "radical decline" in immigration - all far removed from Mr Farage's poster.

No wonder then that Mrs May has entrusted two of the other three Great Offices of State in her new government to fellow Remain supporters.

Key ally Philip Hammond is the new Chancellor, in place of the sacked Mr Osborne, while Amber Rudd fills Mrs May's former job of Home Secretary.

But Mr Johnson - yes, him again - does not get away with leaving his post-Brexit mess entirely to others.

Ludicrously, he is the new Foreign Secretary, a role in which his fine-tuned diplomatic skills should come to the fore.

Finally, it is not all bad news in the May cabinet for Leave supporters. The appointment of strong Leave campaigner David Davis as Secretary of State for Exiting the EU confirms there is no going back on this historic decision.

Having reached enough online signatories, the petition for a second EU referendum will be debated in Parliament after the recess on 5 September.

Under Mrs May, though, there will not be one - and nor should there be. The decision has been made, for better or worse - and only a true masochist would want a repeat of those two campaigns again.

Instead, the new PM will see her task as one of somehow steering Britain through some of the rockiest waters in its post-war existence.

At least, though, she will consider that she is able to do so without any significant effective opposition in the Commons.

For, as the Conservatives slowly untangle themselves, Labour continues to engage in a civil war so fierce that it almost feels inevitable the party will split.

But all that is for another day and a different blog altogether.
 
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP ELECTION

	Westminster seat	EU stance	First  ballot	Second  ballot	Members'  ballot
Theresa MAY	(Maidenhead)	Remain	165	199	unopposed
Andrea LEADSOM	(South Northamptionshire)	Leave	66	84	withdrew
Michael GOVE	(Surrey Heath)	Leave	48	46	-
Stephen CRABB	(Preseli Pembrokeshire)	Remain	34	withdrew	-
Dr Liam FOX	(North Somerset)	Leave	16	-	-

THERESA MAY'S CABINET

	Westminster seat	EU stance	Position
Theresa MAY	(Maidenhead)	Remain	Prime Minister
Philip HAMMOND	(Runnymede & Weybridge)	Remain	Chancellor of Exchequer
Boris JOHNSON	(Uxbridge & South Ruislip)	Leave	Foreign Secretary
Amber RUDD	(Hastings & Rye)	Remain	Home Secretary
Michael FALLON	(Sevenoaks)	Remain	Defence Secretary
David DAVIS	(Haltemprice & Howden)	Leave	Brexit Secretary
Dr Liam FOX	(North Somerset)	Leave	International Trade

Dominant Murray produces a masterclass at Wimbledon

ANDY MURRAY became a double Wimbledon champion with a dominant display on Centre Court against Canadian Milos Raonic.

Murray won 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) in two hours and 48 minutes to regain the title which he first won in 2013.

Back then, Murray also won in straight sets against his arch rival and friend Novak Djokovic - but, though there was only one break of serve in the whole match yesterday, this was a lot more comfortable for the Dunblane man.

Raonic, to his credit, had played well over the two weeks at SW19, the highlight of his run being his defeat of the great Roger Federer in the semi finals on Friday in a titanic five-set battle.

The Podgorica-born 25-year-old could find barely any spare change out of Murray, however, and he gained only two breaks points in the whole match.

By contrast, Raonic seemed under regular pressure from a superb returning masterclass by a relentless Murray, only for his big serve to come to his aid.

Still, against Murray's returning ability, Raonic's main weapon was having nowhere near the effect that it had earlier in the tournament.

After all, heading into the contest, Raonic had served 137 aces. In his first ever Grand Slam final, however, he could add only eight more while Murray was able get a highly impressive 74% of his returns back in play.

That was enough to give Murray a vital edge in a match which presented few clear cut opportunities to either player.

Murray's first breakthrough came in the seventh game of the first set in which he earned two break points.

After frittering away the first chance by pushing a backhand too long, the Scot took the second cracking a forehand which his Candian opponent could only net.

Murray then consolidated his break by winning from deuce - and, though Raonic was gallant enough to make the world number two serve out the set, he did so with ease.

The second set oddly followed the same pattern of the first with Murray's big opportunity coming in the seventh game after he forced Raonic to deuce and gained a break point.

Raonic stood firm this time and then saved another couple of break points in the ninth game.

But he was still no closer to forcing a breakthrough on the Murray serve and, following a comfortable hold each, it was time for a tie-break.

Raonic had won four of the previous five tie-breakers between the pair - but Murray did not allow such history to trouble him as he moved into an early position of dominance to go 5-1 up at the change of ends.

That became 6-1 as Murray, on serve, forced Raonic to net a forehand. The Canadian held the next two points on his serve but, back on serve, Murray soon confirmed a two-set lead.

It now became a case of waiting to see whether Murray would steamroller Raonic or if there would be a comeback - and, to be fair, the first major action of the third set suggested the latter.

In the fifth game at 2-2, Raonic finally got some joy and held two break points - but Murray did not flinch.

Saving the first with his serve, the Scot then outlasted Raonic in an attritional rally to get the game to deuce. Murray then made it four points in a row to hold again.

Weaker players may have crumbled at that point but Raonic's serve was always going to keep him in the contest as long as physically possible. The problem was that he never got close on the Murray serve again.

Another tie-break was thus the inevitable conclusion to the third act - and, in a carbon copy of the second set, Murray found himself 5-1 up at the change of ends.

Again it became 6-1 to bring up five championship points - and, though Raonic saved the first of those against the serve, Murray made no mistake on the next point.

Cue the tears - of joy, of course - from Murray, and the 29-year-old made it clear he was going to enjoy this victory far more than his tension-riddled previous success on the hallowed turf at Wimbledon.

Instead, perhaps, the only tension surrounding Murray this year came about from his status as red-hot favourite once Djokovic had surprisingly lost to American Sam Querrey in the third round.

Nowadays, though, Murray is far too good a player to allow the occasion get to him.

Indeed, he seem to relish playing in his 11th Grand Slam final - but his first which was not against Federer or Djokovic. His dominance was rarely examined by the still-developing Raonic.

A second Wimbledon title, and a third Grand Slam in toughest ever tennis era, was never really in doubt.

Andy Murray: the route to glory Wimbledon 2016

Round 1	v Liam Broady (GBR)	6-2 6-3 6-4
Round 2	v Lu Yen-hsun (TPE)	6-3 6-2 6-1
Round 3	v John Millman (AUS)	6-3 7-5 6-2
Round 4	v Nick Kyrgios (AUS)	7-5 6-1 6-4
Quarter Final	v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)	7-6(12-10) 6-1 3-6 4-6 6-1
Semi Final	v Tomáš Berdych (CZE)	6-3 6-3 6-3
Final	v Milos Raonic (CAN)	6-4 7-6(7-3) 7-6(7-2)

The pantheon of champions Wimbledon Men's Singles titles in the Open Era (since 1968)
7 Pete Sampras (USA) - 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
7 Roger Federer (SUI) - 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
5 Bjorn Borg (SWE) - 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980
3 John McEnroe (USA) - 1981, 1983, 1984 
3 Boris Becker (GER) - 1985, 1986, 1989
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) - 2011, 2014, 2015
2 *Rod Laver (AUS) - 1968, 1969
2 *John Newcombe (AUS) - 1970, 1971
2 Jimmy Connors (USA) - 1974, 1982
2 Stefan Edberg (SWE) - 1988, 1990
2 Rafael Nadal (ESP) - 2008, 2010
2 Andy Murray (GBR) - 2013, 2016
1 Stan Smith (USA) - 1972 
1 Jan Kodeš (CZE) - 1973
1 Arthur Ashe (USA) - 1975
1 Pat Cash (AUS) - 1987
1 Michael Stich (GER) - 1991
1 Andre Agassi (USA) - 1992
1 Richard Krajicek (NED) - 1996
1 Goran Ivanišević (CRO) - 2001
1 Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) - 2002
*Note: Rod Laver (1961, 1962) and John Newcombe (1967) also won titles in the Amateur Era, pre-1967

Euro 2016 Final: Éder strikes as Portugal break their duck

EURO 2016 

Preview - Results - Final

Portugal 1 Éder 109 
France 0
After extra time



Portugal Rui Patricio - Cedric, Pepe, Fonte, Guerreiro - William Carvalho - Renato Sanches (Eder 79), Adrien Silva (Moutinho 66), Joao Mario - Nani, Ronaldo (Quaresma 25) Booked Cedric, Joao Mario, Guerreiro, William Carvalho, Jose Fonte, Rui Patricio Subs not used Bruno Alves, Carvalho, Vierinha, Anthony Lopes, Danilo, Andre Gomes, Rafa Silva, Eliseu, Eduardo.
France Lloris - Sagna, Koscielny, Umtiti, Evra - Pogba, Matuidi - Sissoko (Martial 110), Griezmann, Payet (Coman 58) - Giroud (Gignac 78) Booked Umtiti, Matuidi, Koscielny, Pogba Subs not used Jallet, Rami, Kante, Cabaye, Schneiderlin, Mangal, Mandanda, Digne, Costil
Attendance 75,868 at Stade de France, Saint-Denis Referee Mark Clattenburg (England)
Kick-off 8pm BST. Live on BBC and ITV1.

PORTUGAL won their first major international trophy after former Swansea City flop Éder struck in extra time to break French hearts.

Substitute Éder failed to score in any of his 15 appearances for the Swans last season but lashed a raking shot from 25 yards to win a low-quality contest at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.

France, of course, had been looking for a third success as hosts having previously won Euro 1984 and World Cup 1998 on home soil.

But it was the Portuguese - and their injured talisman Cristiano Ronaldo - who eventually prevailed in a match which neatly summed up the weaknesses of this expanded 24-team tournament as a whole.

It would be fair to say, as feared, the expansion has not really worked. The format meant a single win was likely to take a team through - with only Turkey and Albania missing out on this basis. 

Portugal, meanwhile, managed to qualify without a group stage victory, Slovakia satisfied themselves with a 0-0 draw against England, and Northern Ireland were even able to celebrate a narrow defeat - albeit against Germany.

Overall, far too many of the group games were tight, tense affairs, usually more readily found in the latter stages of a tournament. In total, there were just 108 goals in 51 games. 

That is a paltry average of 2.12 per match (compared to 2.67 at the last World Cup) - and, though there were only four 0-0 draws, a further 13 matches featured just a single goal.

UEFA truly needs to learn that sometimes less can be more - though having already made the move to 24 teams, it is unlikely the governing body will go back to more easily divisible 16.

After all, the tournament on some levels has been a success. The matches have captured the attention and imagination of a scarred French public, and there have been some truly magical stories featuring some of the supposed lesser nations such as Iceland and Wales. 

On a personal level, my trip to Lille for five days during the tournament will remain a highlight of my year. The fan camp and the city were largely well organised, and there was hardly any sign of the sort of trouble which the British newspapers would have you believe was commonplace.

It is just a shame that the fun off the pitch was not mirrored by a greater quality of play on it.

Back to the Final anyway - and, though it will be little remembered now, France actually started reasonably well.

On 10 minutes, semi final hero and tournament top scorer Antoine Griezmann sent a looping header towards goal which was tipped over by Rui Patricio.

From the resultant corner, Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud headed straight at the grateful Portuguese goalkeeper.

Then, in the 17th minute, there appeared to be a critical twist. Ronaldo nastily clashed knees with West Ham United's Dmitri Payet - and, a couple of minutes later, the Real Madrid man went down in pain again.

Still attempting to carry on at first, he was forced to admit defeat five minutes later, and was replaced by Ricardo Quaresma.

A capacity crowd in the Stade de France sensed the match was now there for the taking - but the team on the pitch looked tense and, bar a Moussa Sissoko shot straight at the goalkeeper, created little as the first half faded to a close.

The early stages of the second period were more of the same before the game was livened up by the introduction of winger Kingsley Coman.

Within moments of coming on, Coman released Griezmann but the Atletico Madrid striker again shot straight at Rui Patricio.

And then Griezmann was guilty of missing a gilt-edged chance, heading over from just six yards from an excellent Coman cross.

Unfortunately, thereafter, France failed to kick on and use the little momentum which they had built up.

Portugal began to look ever more dangerous on the counter with Hugo Lloris forced to save from Nani and an acrobatic effort from Quaresma in quick succession.

However, the last big chance of normal time fell to the hosts. Andre-Pierre Gignac twisted and turned into a good position before hitting his shot off the face of the post.

Time had ticked by, slowly for much of the game, and it seemed destined that this underwhelming tie would be decided in extra time.

Sadly, in the first 15 minutes of the additional period, the match got little better.

The Portuguese provided the only vaguely exciting moment in that first half when Lloris saved well from eventual match-winner Éder. 

Nevertheless, it was beginning to become clear which way this match was swinging. 

Consett-born referee Mark Clattenburg had enjoyed a largely uneventful evening - but definitely got one of his decisions wrong by giving a Portugal free-kick when it was actually Éder who had handled.

It could have been costly with Raphaël Guerreiro smacking the resulting effort off the bar - but, within a minute, Portugal did take the lead.

Éder's goal left France little more than 10 minutes to get back into the match, but - in a tournament of dramatic, late goals - Les Bleus never looked like conjuring one.

Indeed, Portugal could have gone further ahead if Paul Pogba had not brought down Joao Mario and if Bacary Sagna had not intercepted a shot from the same player.

Cruelly perhaps, for France, there was one last scrambled effort as Anthony Martial - brought on in extra time - attempted a shot from the edge of the box.

However, it never looked like piercing the mass of bodies in front of it and, on heading into two minutes of injury time, this looked destined to be Portugal's night.

So it was - and, though it could not be said for them in the tournament as a whole, so it deserved to be on the night.

Portugal had a clear game plan and stuck to it, even if their tactics were never going to make the purists purr - and, finally, in their 35th match in European Championship finals history, they had won the trophy.

England - generally poor in France and absolutely atrocious against Iceland in the last 16 - now hold the unwanted crown of having played the most games at the European Championships without winning them.

That streak already stands at 31 and seems likely to go far beyond the Portuguese total in the years ahead.

Nonetheless, it is impossible to get away from the fact that Portugal are surely one of the poorest teams to have ever won an international tournament.

Ahead for only 73 minutes of the whole campaign, A Seleção qualified for the latter stages by drawing their three group games, beating Croatia in extra time, and then Poland on penalties.

A merited victory over spirited Wales was their only win inside 90 minutes but, once it became clear that France were not going to hit the form which had carried them past Iceland and Germany, another workmanlike performance was always going to give Portugal a chance.

It is a chance which they have gratefully taken - but, except for joyous Portuguese and the heartbroken French, this was a forgettable end to a largely drab four weeks.

Roll on 5 August - the start of the new domestic football season as well as the next big event of the year, the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.