Griezmann was the player that had the chances to take advantage of the Germans defensive mistakes, improving his tally to 6 in the competition, and taking France to another final as hosts, after 1984 and 1998. They won those two, will they be able to repeat the feat?
Strengths
·
Arguably the best player of the
tournament, award he will mostly likely get if France wins the title, Griezmann
had a terrific season in Atlético Madrid, but the penalty he missed in the
Champions League final seemed to undermine his confidence, as he only showed a
little glimpse of what he can do in the group stage, with a goal against
Albania. But when things got serious Griezmann showed his quality in finding
spaces with his pace to score goals, lots of goals. 6 in total and two against
the Germans, that give the French with Portuguese ancestry the whole confidence
in the world.
·
Giroud has a very physical
presence in the box, and has a good matchup in Pepe, as the Portuguese centre
back has the tendency of coming forward and leaving some spaces behind him in
the box. If he has the space, the Arsenal striker can impose his good heading
ability, either through open play or a set piece, and be a difference maker.
·
With
or without Kanté, France’s major strength is their midfielders’ ability to
press and recover possession quickly and going forward with pace and strength,
with the likes of Payet and Pogba more as the creativity outlets, and Sissoko a
powerful and strong runner on the right side, will put Portugal’s back line
under pressure. Matuidi will be required to have more defensive worries, but
his tendency to attack through the left side might be a way for Portugal to try
and counter.
Weaknesses
· With the suspension of N’Golo
Kanté for the game against Iceland, Deschamps started Moussa Sissoko and the
team responded well in the attacking part of the game, always bombing forward
with six players. That resulted in a great first half, where destroyed Iceland,
but in the other two halves they played together, the midfield formed from
Pogba and Matuidi seemed a little too unprotected, especially against Germany.
With Kanté on the pitch, Matuidi and, especially, Paul Pogba have the freedom
to go forward, knowing the Leicester man will be in their backs in case
anything goes wrong in possession.
·
The centre backs have been one
of the major concerns for Didier Deschamps, as he saw the pair he was going to
use in the competition (Varane-Mathieu), ruled out because of injuries.
Koscielny has been the leader in the back, with Umititi gaining the spot over
Rami, but with either partner it feels like France is shaky in the back,
especially in the centre, making Evra and Sagna come inside leaving space in
the wings for the opposition full backs to adventure.
·
That lack of defensive
awareness of the French is especially noticeable in defensive set pieces.
Deschamps sets his team up in zonal marking, no players in the second post and
Giroud in charge of being the first defender in position to clear the ball, but
his lack of knowledge in the defensive process makes France liable when
defending corners and free kicks in wide areas.
How they
will approach the Final
There is no reason to believe that Deschamps will make any changes to
his starting eleven for the final in Saint-Denis. It was the same group of
players that Deschamps chose to start the game against Iceland and with great
success, with a perfect first half. In those forty five minutes, France
destroyed the Icelandic dream, pressuring high up in the pitch and overrunning
the Vikings that, this time, couldn’t respond.
Against Germany, though, the game wasn’t easy in the first half, where it Low’s team showed that they missed the quality and presence of Mario Gómez, as it was around the box that things stopped working. And the penalty came out of nowhere to lift France’s morale, and destroy the Germans. But if the semi-final taught us anything, is that the trio of Pogba, Matuidi and Sissoko get caught in the offensive transition, and leave too much space between themselves and the defensive line. With players like Ronaldo, Nani, Renato Sanches and João Mário, players that are always trying to find those pockets of space, Deschamps must decide if Kanté needs to be on the pitch from the beginning, or if he’s going for an early advantage and then try to manage the score-line. The second option seems more likely, but it’s a risky move against an organized, and counter-attack minded Portugal.
Against Germany, though, the game wasn’t easy in the first half, where it Low’s team showed that they missed the quality and presence of Mario Gómez, as it was around the box that things stopped working. And the penalty came out of nowhere to lift France’s morale, and destroy the Germans. But if the semi-final taught us anything, is that the trio of Pogba, Matuidi and Sissoko get caught in the offensive transition, and leave too much space between themselves and the defensive line. With players like Ronaldo, Nani, Renato Sanches and João Mário, players that are always trying to find those pockets of space, Deschamps must decide if Kanté needs to be on the pitch from the beginning, or if he’s going for an early advantage and then try to manage the score-line. The second option seems more likely, but it’s a risky move against an organized, and counter-attack minded Portugal.
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