Thomas Sinicki, Media365: Published on Thursday, July 4, 2024 at 11:44 PM.
Perhaps the most beautiful are the French and Portuguese teams, who will face each other on Friday evening in the Euro quarter-finals.
Goalkeeping: Maignan starter
That's for sure, even if Diogo Costa made a surprise leap up the European pecking order thanks to Monday night's stunning penalty shootout against Slovenia (0-0, tab: 3-0), Mike Maignan remains a few steps ahead of his Portuguese rival.
Defenders: Three Blues with Ruben Dias
Given the defensive solidity that the Blues have shown since the start of the competition, it is difficult not to field a 100% French defense. Ruben Dias, who did not play in the defeat to Georgia (2-0), goes between the drops and deserves to be in line with Jules Kounde and Lucas Hernandez alongside him instead of Nuno Mendes and Joao Cancelo, always on what we can see during this Euro. But then, who accompanies him on the hinge? We are still inclined to keep William Saliba, even if the profiles are quite similar.
Midfield: Kante with disappointing Griezmann and Fernandes
Here again, given the dynamics of the tournament, N'Golo Kanté must necessarily play, despite his recent dip in form. This is less evident concerning Bruno Fernandes and Antoine Griezmann (if we consider this last as a midfielder, his leading position in the final), who could prefer Vitinha, who shows pre-season somewhat close to those of Paris Saint-Germain.
Attack: Ronaldo and Mbappe with Silva
Again, since the paths of the two selections are quite similar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappé will not be undisputed starters because of their performances at the European Championship, but rather because of their high-profile names. We would add Bernardo Silva, who generally holds his place even if he also struggles to perform as well as he does at club level. Rafael Leao would be a luxury alternative.
