Verney and Beezley are back to look back at Euro 2016 after Portugal were named as the new champions following their extra-time victory over hosts France.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who was forced off injured in the final, became the first player to captain Portugal to a major tournament trophy. But the impact of other players cannot be forgotten either.
Verney and Beezley will give their verdict on the final and the tournament as a whole before dishing out some awards in their final Euro 2016 blog.
THE FINAL
Hosts France went into the final as many people's favourites to win the title and for large spells of the game it looked like this could be the case. Les Bleus had more possession and more shots than their opponents, but just couldn't find a way past Portugal goalkeeper and man of the match Rui Patricio. The 28-year-old superbly tipped over Antoine Griezmann's header in the first half before Ronaldo was stretchered off with a knee injury. Rui Patricio also had to be alert to keep out Mussa Sissoko's effort. Griezmann wasted a big chance in the second half when he headed over a delightful cross from Kingsley Coman before Olivier Giroud saw his first-time shot well parried by the goalkeeper. Rui Patricio kept out Sissoko's long-range shot before substitute André-Pierre Gignac's turn and shot hit a post in stoppage time. Portugal didn't actually register a shot on target until the 80th minute, but France were made to rue their missed opportunities after 109 minutes. Raphael Guerreiro's free-kick had hit the underside of the bar, but soon after Portugal got their goal as Eder fired a low shot from outside of the box into the bottom corner of the net. But what did Verney and Beezley make of the final?
JV: I know many don't like to admit it but Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best ever players of our generation and to have finally got international honours will clearly mean the world to him, despite missing a large chunk of the final through injury. Portugal are not a one-man team though and, whilst Ronaldo will get a lot of the plaudits, the role of some of his team-mates shouldn't be forgotten. Rui Patricio was superb between the sticks and defender Pepe was also excellent, and who can forget Eder as without his goal Portugal may not have gone on to become European champions. It is a great achievement for Portugal and they reached the final on merit, but it has still left me feeling very uncertain about the new third-place ruling. In some ways it is good as it allows smaller nations chance to progress further, but in other ways it is bad as should a team finishing third in their group without any wins in the group stages really be winning the tournament!? Portugal have also become the first team in European Championship history to go to extra-time three times in the same tournament and they only won one game in normal time. I am still not convinced, but then again we have second, third and fourth-placed teams, including my beloved Arsenal, competing in the Champions League. Whether or not people agree with the new format or not, well done to Portugal on what is a great achievement. As for France, they performed better than Portugal for the majority of the tournament but only have themselves to blame as poor finishing and great goalkeeping cost them in the final.
RB: So Portugal are not a one man team, Yes Ronaldo is good there is no doubt, but he can't seem to get a decent Eder (excuse the pun). With Ronaldo off at half-time with a potentially serious knee injury, which we will come to in a while, Portugal went onto win 1-0 in extra time thanks to a goal from Eder...cue Mr Ronaldo's knee injury "healing" and him becoming assistant manager and being in the technical area and showing he's not just a character on the field! Going to disagree with Verney and say that they did actually deserve it, yes Portugal drew a lot of games but their defence is what won them the tournament in my opinion!
EURO 2016
Now that the final ball of the tournament has been kicked, it is time to look back at Euro 2016 and consider whether or not it has been a success. A new format was introduced with six groups instead of four and the four best third-placed teams in the group stages being allowed to progress to the round of 16. Some have said that, apart from the odd few memorable games, Euro 2016 was a boring tournament but then I guess it depends what perspective you look at it from. If you are Portuguese, Icelandic or Welsh, for example, this is a tournament that can be looked at with fond memories. But what did Verney and Beezley make of Euro 2016 overall?
JV: I think it depends what angle you look at the tournament from as individually some teams captured the imagination of the public, but Euro 2016 as a whole didn't really fill me with excitement. England's exit to minnows Iceland was clearly disappointing but, even after our poor showing at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, I still loved that tournament, but Euro 2016 certainly isn't one I'll look back on too often and think 'now that was a good tournament'. There were the odd few thrilling games, including Portugal's 3-3 draw against Hungary, but not too many others stand out. There were some excellent goals at Euro 2016 and some of those will live long in the memory, but for the most part I didn't find myself as excited as normal by the non-England games at the tournament. I wouldn't say it has been a total failure as in some ways it could still be considered a good tournament, as we got great underdog stories like Iceland and Wales, but it just won't be one that stands out in years to come if I am ever asked about my favourite European Championships.
RB: Like a lead balloon, sorry but this tournament was shocking. Other than Griezmann, Iceland and the Wales story for me Euro 2016 was a let down. It never really got going, never really got the stabilisers off! As an England fan of course I'm going to be bitter but for me there was no real "talking point". The third place rule was silly and there were far too many draws! No-one took Euro 2016 by the scruff of the neck!
AWARDS
Portugal picked up the main prize by lifting the Euro 2016 trophy, but Verney and Beezley have their own awards to give out as they look back at their "best moments" of the tournament.
GOAL OF TOURNAMENT As early as game one we had a contender as Dimitri Payet's late winner from outside the box guided France to a 2-1 victory over Romania. Luka Modric scored a stunning volley for Croatia against Turkey, while Ronaldo netted a cheeky back-heel in his side's 3-3 draw with Hungary. Xherdan Shaqiri's stunning overhead kick from 18 yards out wasn't enough as Switzerland were knocked out on penalties by Poland, while Hal Robson-Kanu won the vote of the BBC Sport viewers with his exquisite turn and finish for Wales against Belgium.
WINNER: Both Verney and Beezley voted for the same goal, so Xherdan Shaqiri picks up our goal of the tournament award.
PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT Payet and Griezmann were among those to stand out for hosts France, while the quartet of Ashley Williams, Aaron Ramsey, Gareth Bale and Joe Allen were excellent for Wales. I'd love to say one of our players stood out for England for long spells, but sadly they didn't. Rob wants to give a particular mention to Iceland's goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson, while Rui Patricio's performance between the sticks in the final makes him a decent shout according to Joe. We can't ignore looking at the champions further either, with Ronaldo and Pepe among those to stand out for Portugal.
WINNER: Both Verney and Beezley voted for Euro 2016 top scorer Antoine Griezmann as Player of the Tournament
(this is getting spooky now Rob)
TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT Hosts France impressed in most games but let themselves down in the final, while Portugal have to be mentioned...after all they did win it! But it was the so-called smaller nations who really caught the eye at Euro 2016. Iceland defied the odds to make it all the way to the quarter finals in their first ever major international tournament, while Hungary had an impressive group stages before imploding against Belgium in the round of 16. If you take England out of the equation, the British nations did well with Northern Ireland qualifying out of a tough group and Wales doing superbly to reach the semi-finals.
WINNER: Verney voted for Iceland, while Beezley picked out Wales as his team of the tournament.
MATCH OF THE TOURNAMENT Although England ultimately had a poor tournament, our dramatic late 2-1 win over Wales would've been right up there as one of the most enjoyable games before we found out we would end as failures. Czech Republic produced a great comeback from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw against Croatia, which is certainly worthy of a mention. Hungary's 3-3 draw against Portugal and all of Iceland's group games, such was the following the built up, were the pick of the action from Group F. Another game to really catch our eye was Wales' 3-1 win over Belgium in the quarter final.
WINNER: It was nearly a spooky double vote again. Beezley went for Hungary 3 Portugal 3, but Verney had a late change of mind and opted for Wales 3 Belgium 1 as it was a truly magnificent performance by Chris Coleman's men.
All worthy award winners from this summer's tournament in France. So what about the next tournament? Well after the third-place ruling was introduced, it would be understandable to wonder what on earth they could do next. It seems UEFA were so indecisive on picking a host that Euro 2020 will be held in thirteen cities in thirteen different European countries. I guess they had to think of something wacky to celebrate the tournament's 60th birthday! Roll on the mayhem!
THANKS FOR TAKING THE ROAD TO PARIS WITH US!
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