I don’t know, I must have been born like that.
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France are one of three teams to lift the trophy as hosts. “As a defender you have to give him as little space as possible”, Sagna said. He’s the start of the build-up so will complete lots of passes and is always a threat from set-pieces.
Giving Ronaldo a sniff of goal early in the game could change the entire landscape for France. “Limiting his influence will be key for us”.
Which tactical formation will France deploy?
After a fairly solid performance against Germany in Marseille, Deschamps is expected to stick with the 4-2-3-1 he used against the world champions. Sissoko was solid throughout against Germany.
Can Portugal shake off the weight of history?
Portugal have never lifted the trophy, losing to Greece in the Euro 2004 final on home soil in Lisbon.
France midfielder Blaise Matuidi talked up Griezmann’s Ballon d’Or prospects on Friday and, although Deschamps would not be drawn on his player out-shining three-time victor Ronaldo in a bid for football’s most coveted individual prize, he spoke of having a special talent at his disposal. But Portugal remain a country without a title, and the bitter memories of 2004 are still felt. The defender was arguably their best player through the first five matches of the tournament.
Sagna will be tasked with marshalling Ronaldo in the final on Sunday night, but he is confident he knows what he has to do to keep his direct opponent in check.
“Now we are in the final again and we hope we will win it”.
“We went through a crisis but we fought our way back, all of us, the French federation, the coaches and the players, step by step”, he said.
– France have won their last 10 games against Portugal, their best current run against any team after 13 consecutive wins over Luxembourg. Their head-to-head record includes victories in all three clashes at major competitions.
Blaise Matuidi – I think France will dominate possession and Portugal will be looking to hit on the counter-attack, so France’s midfielders should see a lot of the ball.
But Didier Deschamps’ men would be forgiven for feeling extra pressure.
Portugal played on Wednesday against Wales (2-0) while France faced Germany (2-0) on Thursday, meaning Les Bleus have had one less day’s rest that Cristiano Ronald and co.
“I said at the time of the draw that Portugal would possibly get to the final and win it, we were a candidate”, he said.
Sunday’s final will be their first at a major tournament since the 2006 World Cup, when they were beaten by Italy.
But France’s players insist they are focused on the job at hand.
“It’s up to us to focus on winning games and we want to win this final to make the French people happy”.
At just 29, Messi has given up the ghost on that elusive hunt for a major worldwide title, having suffered another disappointment following Argentina’s 1-0 loss to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final.
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“Now we are where we wanted to be, we have an opportunity to write French football history and we want to make the most of it”.
