Euro 2016: France will find it pointless man-marking Cristiano Ronaldo and must not let him have freedom on the break
Three-time Ballon d'Or winner is relentless threat and can upset arguably most tactically astute team in championship
FRANCE and Italy have proved to be the most tactically astute teams in this tournament.
They have known when to go for the throat against weaker opposition and when to hold back when they are threatened by a side who are their equal or better.
You could see that in the way France destroyed Iceland and in the way they defended deep against Germany and played them on the break.
Didier Deschamps has coached his side to get on the front foot and also soak up pressure.
It is difficult to know how they will approach this final against Portugal but they have the ability to adapt when under threat or on top.
They certainly need to defend higher up the pitch than they did against Germany because man for man, they are the better side.
With home advantage also, they are favourites and I can see them winning 2-1 — although, as ever when you face Portugal, there is the one main threat.
There is no point in man-marking Cristiano Ronaldo because that player will end up with a booking very early on and effectively be out the game in that department.
It might sound odd but it is when France are in possession themselves that they will have to be most wary of Ronaldo.
The threat is when they are going forward and the ball gets nicked off them — because that is when Ronaldo will be away on the break.
They need to keep an eye on him when they are going forward, to be aware of what can happen if they do lose the ball.
A major tournament win with his country is clearly something Ronaldo yearns for but I can see heartbreak for him once more.
France will simply be too strong.