Euro 2016 Championships Date: Sunday, 10th July 2016 Time: 20:00 BST Venue: The Stade de France , Pari...
Euro 2016 Championships
Date: Sunday, 10th July 2016
Time: 20:00 BST
Venue: The Stade de France, Paris
Portugal have ridden their luck en-route to the Euro 2016 final. They
didn’t win a single match in the group stage, won against Croatia in
the extra time and defeated Poland on penalties. The victory against Wales was their first win inside 90 minutes in this competition and it seems they are peaking at the right time.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored against Wales and set up another goal for
Nani but against France, Portugal need more than his individual
brilliance to beat the hosts. The Madrid star is 5/1 with Ladbrokes to score the opening goal of the match.
Anything can happen in a game of 90 minutes, but Portugal will start
as clear underdogs for this tie. They have lost their last 10 matches
against France and need a really spectacular performance from everyone
to pull this one out.
Real Madrid defender Pepe missed Portugal’s 2-0 win over Wales in the
semi-final through injury and the team will be desperate to have him
back. Midfielder William Carvalho is also available for selection after
serving a suspension in the last game. His inclusion could see Danilo
missing out against France.
France are high on confidence after beating Germany 2-0 in the
semi-final, thanks to a brace from Antoine Griezmann. The Atletico
Madrid superstar is in red-hot form at the moment, with six goals to his
name already and France are looking simply unstoppable with him
operating from the centre.
The 4-2-3-1 system has brought the best out of Griezmann but against
Germany, we saw the midfield being overrun. Will Didier Deschamps bring
in N’Golo Kante in the midfield to add more steel to the midfield? Or
will he stick with his attacking set-up (not breaking the winning combo)
and make changes according to the situation?
The interesting part is Deschamps has no major injury worries at the
moment and can pick his strongest team. This French squad looks unified
and mentally stronger compared to previous French squads at a major tournament and are 4/9 with Ladbrokes to lift the trophy.
Predicted Portugal starting line-up: Patricio, Soares, Pepe, Fonte, Guerreiro, Sanches, Carvalho, Mario, Silva, Ronaldo, Nani
Predicted France starting line-up: Lloris, Evra, Koscielny, Umtiti, Sagna, Matuidi, Pogba, Payet, Griezmann,Sissoko, Giroud
Prediction: France 2-0 Portugal