Euro 2016: Sportsbet.io hand out their awards following Portugal’s final triumph in France

Euro 2016 is over and with it goes our footballing enjoyment. It will soon return with domestic football, but until then here’s Sportsbet.io’s awards following Portugal’s tournament winning final against France in Paris.

Goal of the Tournament

Stunning goals were few and far between at this summer’s Euro 2016 in France, in fact goals in general often came at a premium, with many matches becoming nervy affairs.

However, one effort that did catch the attention of the guys at Sportsbet.io was Dimitri Payet’s stunning strike for hosts France against Romania in the group stages.

The West Ham attacker, who has since been linked with a move to Real Madrid, beat a man before curling a left-footed effort into the top corner to send locals into delirium.

Xherdan Shaqiri and Hal Robson-Kanu pushed Payet all the way for the Spotsbet.io accolade, but for us, the French fancy claims the award.

Player of the tournament

Antoine Griezmann may not have got his hands on the main trophy this summer, but he did manage to snap up Sportsbet.io’s player of the tournament.

The Atletico Madrid attacker scored six goals on the way to the final in Paris, only to see his dreams crushed by Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in extra time.

It may not have been the end he dreamed of, but he can sleep well in the knowledge that he did everything he could to make his nation proud.

Griezmann has quickly become one of the best players in the world and at the age of just 25 he will have no trouble fighting for an international trophy in the coming years.

Young player of the tournament

Portugal fans could have a very special player on their hands if this tournament is anything to go by, with youngster Renato Sanches excelling for his country.

The 18-year-old, who agreed a deal worth £30m with Bayern Munich in May, showed those watching just why he’s so highly rated with a series of impressive performances.

Sanches netted against Poland in the group stages and went on to lift the trophy with his team-mates after seeing off hosts France in the final.

With Cristiano Ronaldo to learn from, there’s no reason why Sanches can’t go all the way in his career and become one of the world’s very best players.

Manager of the Tournament

At times at Euro 2016, watching the manager was more exciting than the game itself — take Roy Hodgson pretending he knows what he’s doing on the big screen or Antonio Conte kicking the ball into row Z for example.

Iceland and Wales were the surprise packages of the tournament and a lot of credit must go down to Iceland’s coaches — Lars Lagerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson, whilst Chris Coleman did a fantastic job with Wales.

However, it’s the Portuguese manager, Fernando Santos, who has impressed Sportsbet.io the most. Portugal were, let’s be honest, pretty boring.

But conceding just one goal in 450 minutes of the knockout stage football is hugely impressive and Santos was massively influential in that.

Game of the Tournament

This years Euro’s were fairly short of high scoring, exciting games with only three games being of note — and one of those was England’s loss to Iceland!

France’s quarter-final clash against Iceland was very entertaining but it’s more likely that this was due to poor defending rather than great attacking.

It is, however, the Wales against Belgium game that really sticks out with those from Sportsbet.io.

Having conceded early, the Welsh looked like they were going to be on the end of a rampant Belgian side but captain Ashley Williams rose to head in an equaliser before halftime.

The Welsh turned it around in the second half with a moment of magic by Hal Robson Kanu — sending the Belgian defenders the wrong way with a beautiful Cruyff turn before curling into the bottom corner.

It was absolute ecstasy for Wales before Sam Vokes topped off the win with a powerful header late on.

Best Moment of the Tournament

It’s likely that this tournament will be remembered for events off the pitch, rather than off on it — not all of which will be positive, but there is no doubt that there have been some great moments out in France.

The Irish, in particular, have been at the forefront of many memorable moments. This includes singing a lullaby to a baby whilst on the tram, wedging euros in a car they accidentally damaged and as recognition are to be honoured with the ‘Grand Vermeil de la Ville de Paris’ after ‘exemplary sportsmanship’.

It’s not the Irish fans that have won Sportsbet.io’s recognition, though. That moment falls to a young Portuguese fan, who after watching Portugal win the tournament, decided to console an older French fan instead of celebrating his countries success.

It was a truly beautiful way to end what has been an average tournament.

Remember, you can bet on every game of Euro 2016 with Sportsbet.io, the Bitcoin only sportsbook. Don’t forget — #betbigwinbig