Thomas Sinicki, Media365: Published on Thursday, July 4, 2024 at 11:44 p.m.
Perhaps the French national team and the Portuguese national team, which meet on Friday evening in the Euro quarter-finals, are the most beautiful.
Goalkeeper: Maignan is a starter
That much is certain, even if Diogo Costa makes a surprise leap up the Euro hierarchy thanks to Monday night's stratospheric penalty shootout against Slovenia (0-0, tab: 3-0), Mike Maigne 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 beginning of the competition, it is difficult not to use a 100% French defense. Ruben Dias, who did not play in the defeat against Georgia (2-0), goes between relegation and deserves to go with Jules Kounde and Lucas Hernandez at his side instead of Nuno Mendes and Joao Cancelo, always the same as we can see during this Euro. But then, with whom would he accompany him on the hinge? We're still inclined to stick with William Saliba, even if the profiles are quite similar.
Midfield: Kante with the disappointing Griezmann and Fernandes
Here again, given the dynamics of the tournament, N'Golo Kante must necessarily participate, despite his recent decline in form. It is less clear regarding Bruno Fernandes and Antoine Griezmann (if we consider the latter as a midfielder, his majority position despite the Round of 16), it is possible to prefer Vitinha who is performing almost in line with that of Paris Saint-Germain. .
Attack: Ronaldo and Mbappe accompanied by Silva
Again, with the two selection paths being quite similar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappé will not be undisputed starters due to their performances in the European Championship, but rather due to their high profile names. We would add Bernardo Silva, who generally keeps his place even if he is also struggling to perform as well as he has at the club. Rafael Leao would be a luxury alternative.
