Tomorrow at the Stade de France, Saint Denis, France, EURO 2016 hosts France will take on Portugal in the tournament's final match.
Portugal have lost their last 10 matches against France but in this competition, historical advantage has not been much of a help as
Germany finally ended their long-term hoodoo against Italy while France ended their 58 year long wait for a competitive win over Germany. Thus France's historical edge against Portugal might not help them sleep well tonight.
France are masters of the counter attack as they showed against Iceland, they also know how to keep the ball and play together in the opponent's box to create chances as Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann have created most of each other's goals. Also, France have creative geniuses like Dimitri Payet and Blaise Matuidi not to mention prospective 100 million Pound man Paul Pogba who showed what he could do to produce the second goal in the semifinals with a delightful foot movement. These craftsmen lie in wait to assist and even chip in a goal or two in case their attackers get stifled by the opposing defence. Truly, this France's team seems formidable. But France's Achilles heel is their defence, their defensive pairing of Umtiti and Koscienly was easily taken apart by the German attack time and again in their semifinal. Poor finishing by the Germans and the controversial handball by their long serving captain literally gave France the initiative but I doubt Portugal will be so generous. Portugal will need to close down Antoine Griezmann as the diminutive striker has punished teams that give him the freedom of movement, just ask Germany!!
Portugal equally play counter attacking soccer albeit they haven't mastered it like France. Their game play is more of 'pump it into the box' looking to find potential targets in the box especially their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo, as most of their goals in this tournament have come from this tactic. Portugal have not really showed a liking for keeping the ball and dominating games and this is one area France will be looking to exploit. Portugal have a strong defensive core which gives space and time to their speedy players like Ronaldo, Quaresma and Nani who are always looking to make fast breaks and catch the opposing defense on the counter. France will have to watch Ronaldo and Nani closely if they have any intention of leaving the game happy. Despite the limited chances Wales handed over to them in the semis, they still scored a goal each.
Looking at both prospective starting lineups, you can't not just help but feel that France have the edge in terms of experience and quality, but Portugal has proven time and again that individual names and prematch predictions doesn't do the talking for them.
The talking will be done on the pitch tomorrow by 20:00 (GMT + 1). You don't wanna miss it!!
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