5 reasons why Portugal won Euro 2016

Before Euro 2016 began, Portugal manager Fernando Santos said he wanted to "test" his whole squad. He told reporters that this team wasn't a one-man show headlined by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Then Portugal had a chance to play without Ronaldo in a pre-tournament friendly against England.

"I hope he can play in all seven games in France, but we need to be able to play without him and tomorrow is a chance to practise that," Santos said at the time.

That test paid off as Portugal had to contest most of Sunday's final without its talisman, who was stretchered from the pitch after suffering a knee injury, and found a winning goal through substitute Eder in extra time.

Eder had played only 13 minutes previously at the Euros, the ugly duckling of Portugal.

And it made sense. Santos made use of all 20 outfield players in his squad, leaving just the two backup goalkeepers on the bench. It was a complete team effort.

Here are five reasons why A Selecao captured their first-ever major international trophy.

Team unity

Santos understood he didn't have the best team in the world at his disposal. It wasn't a poor outfit by any means, and it appeared to underachieve in the group stage, but Santos chose to emphasise the collective over the individual.

Portugal arrived at previous tournaments with a dearth of talent in several positions. Not this time.

Several players also grew into the tournament. Eighteen-year-old Renato Sanches showed the world why Bayern Munich paid €35 million for his services, demonstrating confidence on the ball and a penchant for the spectacular.

Santos slowly introduced him as a starter, sacrificing Joao Moutinho in the process.

Even if the personnel changed, the system didn't. Santos kept the 4-4-2 diamond intact throughout the seven matches, an unwavering commitment to compact football no matter the opponent.

Defensive organisation

The overwhelming criticism of Portugal was that it played boring football. In a tournament that produced cagey matches, the Portuguese were living representatives.

The 1-0 victory over Croatia in their Round of 16 contest, however, arguably provided the greatest demonstration of Portugal's patience and balance. Unwilling to open itself up to a counter-attack, Portugal only launched one of its own once Croatia made the first mistake. It happened in extra time as well, capitalising after nearly 120 minutes of what amounted to a staring contest.

Portugal was also happy to break up the flow of play. It committed a tournament-high 93 fouls, of which only 12 were worth yellow cards. The plan was simple: Stop the opposition from taking control of the game.

Pepe contributed to this defensive spirit, joining Wales' James Chester as the players with the most interceptions (19) in France. He was the mainstay in a defensive backline that changed more than once, first starting beside Ricardo Carvalho and then Jose Fonte.

That, plus routine goalkeeping from Rui Patricio, kept things clean at the back.

Santos' masterful tactics

Santos encouraged his players to maintain composure without the ball, but it wasn't as if Portugal was completely incapable of producing attacking football.

The 61-year-old utilized his full-backs - predominantly Raphael Guerreiro and Cedric Soares - as de facto wingers, and gave them licence to push forward. With a front man like Ronaldo - whose aerial ability proved vital in the 3-3 comeback draw against Hungary and the 2-0 semi-final win over Wales - Portugal could whip balls into the box and hope for something. The Iberian nation attempted more crosses (204) than any other team at the tournament.

Santos also liberated attacking midfielders Joao Mario, Sanches, and Adrien Silva, and asked William Carvalho to shoulder most of the defensive responsibilities in a holding role. There was a chance opponents could overload Carvalho, but even in the final, the likes of Antoine Griezmann were marked out of the game.

Results over style

Just win, baby.

Many onlookers began to compare this Portugal team to the one that beat it in the final of Euro 2004: a bland group of otherwise unspectacular players who ground out results.

The Portuguese only won a single match in regular time. Their six other contests finished tied after 90 minutes.

In fact, had UEFA not adopted a 24-team format, Portugal would have missed the knockout stages altogether. It finished behind Hungary and Iceland - the very team Ronaldo mocked - in Group F.

But this team took advantage of every back door, every opportunity, every little miscue. And it rarely ever made a mistake itself.

"It's not only tonight. Throughout the tournament this team has known how to accept all the criticism we have received. We kept going, stuck to our game with lots of humility and hard work right to the end, and have ultimately managed to capture this trophy," said Silva. "It's fantastic."

France's failures

France had every chance to pounce on its injured prey Sunday, but despite controlling possession, it couldn't land the killer blow.

With the injured Ronaldo off the pitch, Les Bleus could've upped the ante and went for the kill. But Didier Deschamps' men couldn't break Portugal's resolve. They gave the Portuguese life in extra time, where A Selecao had thrived all tournament. No one benefited from another 30 minutes of football but Portugal.

Deschamps' best performer was Moussa Sissoko, of the recently relegated Newcastle United, which tells the story of France's failures in itself. The best players in blue just didn't show up.

Deschamps seemed to shackle dynamic midfielder Paul Pogba to a withdrawn position, where the 23-year-old could only win balls and make tackles. He was largely anonymous on this night.

The French were also unlucky. If not for the post, Andre-Pierre Gignac could've sealed France's third European Championship in the 92nd minute.

"We'll have to digest this, even though it'll be hard," said Gignac. "We're going to have shit holidays."