Portugal victory celebrations extend to Macau

Portugal fans celebrate after winning the Euro 2016 final football match against France in Paris

Portuguese nationals and fans of the country’s football team celebrated Portugal’s victory against France in the UEFA Euro Championship yesterday morning in Macau at the Portuguese Institute of the Orient (IPOR).
The attendees, who started watching the game at 3 a.m. and may have been celebrating into the mid-morning, cheered on the national team as it edged its way – against the odds – to victory (more on Sports section).
According to reports of the evening, the small crowd went crazy as Eder scored the only goal of the match to break the sporting deadlock. The national anthem was sung at the final whistle.
Lemos, a Portuguese legal advisor who moved to Macau more than three years ago, told Time magazine that Macau is a good place to celebrate the victory, and that he doesn’t feel he is missing out being so far from home.
The victory over host nation France in one of the biggest sporting events in the world is even more exciting for a team that has never won a major football tournament, and that struggled during earlier matches in the group stages.
“Portugal has waited a long time for this,” João Nonis, a 20-year-old, Lisbon native told Time Magazine. “This is something really special,” he says. “I can’t believe it.”
All of the Euro matches featuring the Portuguese national team were aired at the Café Oriente at IPOR, including the historic final yesterday. The events were staged as part of a new program presented earlier this year, titled “June-Month of Portugal.”
A similar showing was held at The Roadhouse Macau, which was open through the early hours of the morning.
Portuguese communities, including in East Timor, Brazil and Angola, held similar celebrations yesterday. While last night (Macau time), the Portuguese national team arrived back in Lisbon to greet wild crowds. DB