Portugal’s unlikely hero continues to change minds

If you had set out to predict the potential hero of Euro 2016, you certainly would not have picked a 28-year-old striker from Guinea-Bissau who had just come through the most frustrating six months of his career playing for Swansea.

Football has often produced unexpected heroes, but the story of Ederzito Macedo Lopes, usually known as Eder, is one of the most unlikely.

Those with long memories may recall Salvatore ‘Toto’ Schillaci, the Italian striker who seemingly emerged from nowhere to win the Golden Boot award in the 1990 World Cup. He scored in four consecutive matches at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, and the fourth was like a dagger to Ireland’s hopes as he stabbed home a rebound when Packie Bonner could only parry a long-range shot from Roberto Donadoni.