France - Portugal, Sunday evening football
As I've mentioned in the semi thread, if France opens up the score in the first half, things could easily snowball into a one-sided 2-0/3-0 win.
Portugal's path to success is to play confidently, try to build up some presence in the midfield and not be excessively defensive. Parking the bus won't work, 120min is too much time for Pogba, Griezmann or even Giroud. They've got to survive the first 50-60min and get to a position where the pressure builds up on the hosts/favorites.
But mostly, this France team has the momentum, gradually getting better throughout the tournament and going into this game with a good team dynamic. They were helped by the second goal against Germany, which took the pressure off and allowed them to cruise the rest of the game, somewhat mitigating the extra day of rest that Portugal got.
I'm pretty optimistic about this final.
As I've mentioned in the semi thread, if France opens up the score in the first half, things could easily snowball into a one-sided 2-0/3-0 win.
Portugal's path to success is to play confidently, try to build up some presence in the midfield and not be excessively defensive. Parking the bus won't work, 120min is too much time for Pogba, Griezmann or even Giroud. They've got to survive the first 50-60min and get to a position where the pressure builds up on the hosts/favorites.
But mostly, this France team has the momentum, gradually getting better throughout the tournament and going into this game with a good team dynamic. They were helped by the second goal against Germany, which took the pressure off and allowed them to cruise the rest of the game, somewhat mitigating the extra day of rest that Portugal got.
I'm pretty optimistic about this final.
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