It’s a question that has divided football fans for years now, and we’ve finally been provided a definitive, solid answer. Regardless of where your allegiances previously held court, either with the diminutive, technically gifted Argentine or the more robust, 18-yard box dwelling Portuguese, we now know once and for all who’s the better player.
The answer, of course, is Lille’s Eder. His howitzer of a shot settled the Euro 2016 final, gifting the European continental championship to Portugal. Gonzalo Higuain, on the other hand, has been unable to do the same for Argentina. Eder is a champion — a leader on the pitch for Portugal.
Higuain just doesn't have the cojones for Argentina.
Higuain has fluffed his lines on three separate occasions for Argentina, failing to convert guilt-edged chances at the 2014 World Cup final and both the 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals.
#CopaAmerica pic.twitter.com/ruZqOKpZR6
— João Paulo (@jpbarreto87) June 27, 2016
For a long while now many have believed that Higuain is the finer striker of the 28 year olds. After all, this is a player that scored 121 goals for Real Madrid, is a three-time La Liga champion and just finished as the Serie A Top-scorer in 2015-16 with 36 goals for Napoli.
Meanwhile, Eder was unable to score in 15 appearances for Swansea City during the first half of the season before joining Lille on loan and scoring six goals in 14 appearances.
Yes, Eder has only scored four goals with Portugal as compared to Higuain’s 30 for Argentina. Sure, Higuain’s current market value is €60 million while Eder’s is only €5 million.
But as any true football fan knows, it’s all about what you do on the biggest stage; it’s all about winning major competitions while carrying your country on your back. Eder did just that on Sunday.
In that sense, Eder is twice the player Gonzalo Higuain will ever be.
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