Written by Michael Cox at The Guardian.com
The defining feature of this tournament has been the number of teams lacking a discernible attacking plan and it seemed somehow appropriate that Portugal won the game in this manner. Before the tournament their coach, Fernando Santos, eschewed a traditional centre-forward in favor of playing two wingers, Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani, up front – yet Portugal played their best football here after introducing Éder, an old-school No9. Few would have predicted, however, that the striker would settle the game in such spectacular fashion.
This was a defensive, cagey match between two teams attempting to regain possession in deep positions and lacking the tools to create regular chances. It started at a good tempo, with Moussa Sissoko moving inside from the right flank to charge forward from central positions. Portugal looked to play on the counterattack, although through long passes rather than quick combinations and rapid transitions. Their first chance came when Nani sprinted on to a 60-yard ball from the right-back Cédric Soares before firing over. The approach was obvious: get the ball towards the front two immediately.
The tactical battle was essentially 4-4-2 versus 4-4-2. There were nuances to the systems: Portugal’s shape was arguably more of a diamond midfield, with Adrien Silva given licence to drift forward, leaving William Carvalho protecting the defence, but without the ball the diamond became a flat four. France had Antoine Griezmann dropping off into deeper roles behind Olivier Giroud, while Dimitri Payet drifted inside and Sissoko, the first half’s best player, was arguably an extra midfielder. For long spells, however, this match was about two sides failing to penetrate the opposition’s two banks of four.
Ronaldo’s injury significantly altered the plan: France, who had started brightly, lost momentum while Portugal lost their key man and were forced to change shape. Ricardo Quaresma was summoned but played wide on the right, with Nani becoming a lone striker and Portugal switching to a 4-3-3 system.
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