Sunday 10 July 2016

Euro 2016 final: France 0 Portugal 1

The 51st and final match of a surprising euros campaign was always likely to be entertaining with the undeniable talents of Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann and Cristiano Ronaldo on display. However when Ronaldo suffered a knee injury and was forced off it appeared an up-hill battle for a resolute Portugal. Neither team could break the deadlock until the second half of extra time when a thumping Eder strike sent Portugal into ecstasy, and France into despair.


The deflated French collect their medals
France 

Lloris - 8
Did well as he has done all tournament and can't be faulted for the Eder winner. He diverted a Nani cross-shot away from goal as well as a Quaresma bicycle kick and Eder header.


Evra - 7
Comfortable throughout like France all until Eder's strike. Evra's final ball was often disappointing however this doesn't reflect a respectably consistent tournament.

Umtiti - 8
On just his third cap Umtiti continued to impress however his performance will be forgotten in Portuguese celebration. Certianly should have closed down Eder when Koscielny was struggling to deal with the imposing former Swansea man.

Koscielny - 8
A brilliant tournament dented by being out-fought by an imposing Eder in the build up to the goal. Regret will be in his mind for days to come.

Sagna - 7
A very similar performance to Evra in the fact he was not tested defensively and despite getting forward could not provide the key ball to open up a resolute Portugal.

Pogba - 7
Pogba showed his physicality and desire in the centre of the park as he won and retained possession time and time again. However Pogba's technical talent was wasted with him sitting just in front of the defence most of all when France needed the spark and drive to win the game.

Matuidi - 8
A very busy performance which must be applauded, perhaps the PSG man should have been sacrifice for the more offensive Martial early on as France searched for a goal.

Payet - 6
The West Ham man failed have as large an impact as against the mediocre likes of Romania and Albania. Aside from some neat stepovers that put Soares under pressure Payet could not get on the ball enough and was substituted just before the 60th minute for the rapid Coman. The 29 year old did however injure Ronaldo which is a cruel positive from the French perspective. He took his manager's inevitable 'let him know you're there' (French translation) to perfection.

Griezmann - 5
Griezmann will feel a mixture of emotions: most likely one of guilt after missing a 6 yard header which should be an easy goal for such a clinical player. Despite winning the Golden Boot comfortably Griezmann will be deflated to have lost 2 finals in as many months. On the night he failed to capture the ability to beat a man that he showcased against Iceland and Germany.

Sissoko - 9
The Newcastle man impressed defensively against Germany however he went a step further against Portugal and put in a MOTM shift. Pogba Sissoko was bombarding forward from the centre of the pitch, beating players with his pace and power as well as technique, a perfect nutmeg left Silva in a state of embarrassment. Nonetheless Sissoko carried out his defensive duties too. he had the desire to get back to use his physique to ease Quaresma off the ball.

Giroud - 6
Excluding some important knock downs Giroud wasn't on the ball enough. He was not enough of a threat in the box with so many crosses from Evra and Sagna swung in the box. The Arsenal man's single chance was well saved by Patricio mid-way through the second half.

Substitutions 

Coman (Payet) - 7
Proved more of a threat than Payet from the off, his exquisite dribbling and close control saw him past many Portugal midfielders and set up big chances for example a Giroud shot well saved from Patricio.

Gignac (Giroud) - 7
A brilliant turn saw Gignac present with a golden opportunity for 'a poor man's Giroud', however a scuffed finish hit the post to the frustration of 66 million in France.

Martial  (Sissoko) - 5
Couldn't get past Soares when it mattered most.  

Portugal
Fonte excelled at the back

Patricio - 9
An excellent performance from a relatively unknown keeper, most notably a stretching save from a deflected Sissoko effort in addition to a point blank parry to come out on top against Giroud.

Guerreiro - 8
The French born left back held his ground well and was far from a liability in the French defence. The full back was content to sit back and keep a clean sheet as opposed to aiding rare Portugal attacks.

Fonte - 8
A solid display from the 32 year old centre back who only recently secured his place in the starting eleven. Fonte not only limited Giroud's role as a target man but was also a big threat from corners offensively.


Pepe - 9
A perfect performance from Pepe excluding a fine turn from Gignac which saw Pepe in no man's land. Pepe was confident in the air and on the ground in equal measure and almost saw a header creep in at the other end - albeit offside.

Soares - 8
An up and down display from the Southampton man, literally less so metaphorically since he was constantly bombing along the wing in aid of attacks. Cedric's crosses were into dangerous areas however, with Ronaldo out the equation they were easy pickings for Koscielny and Umtiti.

Carvalho - 8
A convincing defensive shield for a Portugal team concentrating most of their forces defensively, when further forward Carvalho looked lost however he carried his role out to perfection.

Joao Mario - 7
Similarly to Carvalho he was set out to stay back from the off despite surging orward in previous games. On occasions he matched the physicality of the imposing French midfielders when competing alongside Pogba, Matuidi and Sissoko.

Renato Sanches - 6
Perhaps nerves got to the youngster since to begin with his touch was poor and he lost out on a couple of 50/50s. The Bayern man did grow into the game with some powerful breakaways however he grew fatigued and was eventually substituted.
Ronaldo experienced both tears of pain and joy

Adrien Silva - 5
An unnoticeable display from the Sporting Lisbon captain who failed to have the same control of play as he did against Wales.

Nani - 6
Some nice touches and creativity from the now Valencia man however on occasions he flattered to deceive and does not come across as a natural striker.

Ronaldo - 3
A nightmare for the Real Madrid man after a collision with Payet left him hobbling around like one's Father after a 5K run. Despite his desire to stay on Ronaldo could not persevere and was substituted Quaresma just shy of 15 minutes in. However deflation turned to pride as Ronaldo was left in tears after Portugal's unexpected victory.

Substitutions:

Quaresma (Ronaldo) - 6
The big occasion meant Quaresma was happier to keep it simple as opposed to flair and trickery. Saying that an inventive bicycle almost flew past Lloris.

Joao Moutinho (Silva) - 5
Rarely got on the ball and couldn't influence the game similarly to the man he replaced.

Eder (Renato Sanches) - 7
A handful to deal with for Koscielny and Umtiti he was unfortunate not to see a downward header fly into the roof of the net in the first half of extra time. However a fantastic solo effort and low fizzing strike scored the decisive goal which ultimately won the Euro championship. Wasn't even an eder !






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