Euro 2016 analysis: Pepe's part in Portugal's historic win

With Eder scoring the winner and Cristiano Ronaldo forced off with a first-half knee injury, there were a couple of obvious players to focus on in Portugal's Euro 2016 triumph.

But while Ronaldo's contribution in other games was key, the defensive qualities of Fernando Santos' side were as important at times on their run to success.

In particular, Pepe's performance in the final against France was crucial in giving his country their first major title.

Armed with the tournament's leading scorer in Antoine Griezmann and two of the men tied in second place - Olivier Giroud and Dimitri Payet - the French had an array of attacking options at their disposal.

Yet Pepe was able to nullify their threat, making 17 successful interceptions and coming out on top in more than half of the aerial duels he was involved in.

In Payet, France had a player who has repeatedly shown how he is able to dismantle defences in the Premier League and at Euro 2016.

Against Portugal, however, he was not afforded the same opportunities he had in other games and was withdrawn after 58 minutes, the earliest he was substituted in his six starts.

Even when France came closest to scoring, Pepe did enough to ensure they were denied by the post rather than celebrating a goal.

Andre-Pierre Gignac was able to release his shot but the Real Madrid defender made two tackles on him first which did enough to stall him and force a poorer connection.

Pepe's resolute efforts were not just restricted to defence as he was also the catalyst for a number of Portuguese attacks.

When playing forward to midfielders or high-positioned full-backs Cedric Soares and Raphael Guerreiro, he had a 100 per cent success rate from 31 attempts.