It’s being said that Payet will start tonight, not Martial.
That makes sense to me.
But Martial is so talented that he’s capable of scoring the best goal of this tournament, one that will be shown for decades.
My belief: your midfield win the trophy for you.
You need four top players who can win the ball, keep it and create various kind of attacks.
If you can choose self-motivated, self-disciplined competitors, rather than flair players who are a bit flaky, you have a reasonable chance of success.
In 1966, Alf Ramsey used Alan Ball and Nobby Stiles with Bobby Charlton & Martin Peters, so he had two very mobile goalscorers who could win matches, supported by two tacklers who fought tirelessly and fearlessly for every ball to keep those matches won.
In 1984, France’s midfield was led by Michael Platini, the Bobby Charlton of Les Bleus in 1984.
Platini scored in every game and dominated the tournament.
In 1998, manager Aime Jacquet had no decent strikers but athletic defenders and an outstanding group of midfielders, which he deployed shrewdly.
Jacquet must have influenced Deschamps. If France play too conservatively in their next three games, that will be one of the reasons.
If Dimitri Payet starts every game, he could score in every game.
Memo to Romania: watch out for Payet.
PSG’s Blaise Matuidi at his best is a great warrior with a big engine.
I love the clinical Antoine Griezmann but have a feeling he won’t perform.
As I’ve said for years, France is a producer nation.
It’s a big country that produces a helluva lot of good players, while England doesn’t and never will.
Even if France don’t win the Final, or reach it, Paul Pogba could be the player of Euro 2016.
Pogba is a versatile powerhouse, a 23-year old game-changer, an explosively athletic interventionist who can swing a game with a big pass, a killer knockdown, a nice flick – or a thunderous shot.