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3 France Weaknesses Portugal Could Expose in the Euro 2016 Final
Published: July 8, 2016
The odds will be heavily stacked in favour of hosts France, who have certainly impressed during their month of performing in front of their own fans, but they—and Portugal, for that matter—have had a fairly kind route to their nation's capital and were somewhat fortunate to beat Germany in their semi-final on Thursday.
That means some of their weaknesses haven't been exposed in this tournament, and it is up to Portugal boss Fernando Santos to try to do just that.
What are those deficiencies, though? Here are three that could just be cropping up in Portugal's team meetings.
The Full-Backs
While there have been changes—usually enforced ones—at the heart of the French defence throughout the tournament, coach Didier Deschamps has steadfastly stuck with full-backs Patrice Evra and Bacary Sagna, who are the two oldest players in the France squad at a combined age of 68.
It has meant the pair's understudies, Lucas Digne and Christophe Jallet, are two of the three outfield players in the squad yet to have tasted any action this summer. That won't change in the final, as Evra and Sagna will line up for what could be their last appearances for their country.
The pair have been solid enough in the tournament, but they have yet to face truly tricky wide players whose first thought is to take them on.
Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani will know Evra well from their time together at Manchester United, and Nani in particular might spend a little more time out on the right flank than he did on Wednesday against Wales, whose three-centre-back system proved one of the most difficult to play against during their terrific tournament.
Ev...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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