FRANCE VS PORTUGAL

With the showpiece event now decided as France take on Portugal, most are leaning towards the hosts to secure glory on home turf for the third time in their history. The Portuguese, meanwhile, are aiming for their first major international trophy anywhere having narrowly missed out as hosts themselves back in 2004, and will be aiming to avenge defeat to Greece by replicating what would be another success for the underdog.

While Fernando Santos’ side haven’t exactly thrilled en route to the final, to put it mildly, they’ve proven defensively resolute to answer some doubters in that regard ahead of the tournament. That said they’ve yet to face a side of les Bleus’ quality thus far, so whether Portugal can stop France in their tracks just as they have seemingly hit their stride will be dependent on some key battle across the pitch, and we take a look at four crucial match ups.

Pepe vs Olivier Giroud

He may have missed out on the win over Wales last time out through injury but Pepe will be determined to prove his fitness ahead of Sunday’s final and that much may prove decisive. The Real Madrid centre-back is not a popular figure but when he does let his football do the talking few would question his ability and commitment at the back. The 33-year old not only distributes with accuracy from defence but reads the game exceptionally well, which will be key to cutting the supply line to Olivier Giroud having averaged the second most interceptions per game of players to make more than three appearances this summer.

Giroud, meanwhile, isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but his ability to bring others into play – most notably Griezmann – has been pivotal to France’s improvements as the tournament has progressed. A threat when balls are delivered into feet or in the air, his battle with Pepe, assuming the latter is fit, will be key. Both players have won the most aerial duels for their respective sides this summer (Pepe – 4 per game, Giroud – 4.6) but who will come out on top at the Stade de France?

William Carvalho vs Antoine Griezmann

There’s no question as to the man of the moment right now, and little doubt as to the favourite for the Player of the Tournament gong regardless of Sunday’s outcome, with Antoine Griezmann hitting top form just when it has mattered most. After a disappointing start to his Euro 2016 campaign, somewhat wasted out on the right of a 4-3-3 formation and consequently dropped in France’s second group game against Albania, the Atletico forward has found his feet since a switch to a 4-2-3-1 system in support of Olivier Giroud.

Following a move infield after the interval as the hosts trailed to Ireland in the round of 16, Griezmann has fired off 14 shots (8 on target), created 7 chances and completed 6 dribbles in 225 minutes of action. That’s opposed to tallies of 10 shots (4 on target), 4 key passes and one dribble in 209 minutes from a right-sided berth. He’s profiting from Giroud’s hold up play in the middle, and the link between the two will need to be restricted.

That will likely be the job of William Carvalho, who should return to the side having missed the semi-final with Wales through suspension. There’s a sense that the Sporting midfielder has never quite come good on his potential but this summer he has been key to Portugal’s success. After sitting out of the opener with Iceland the 24-year old has claimed his place at the base of the midfield, making more tackles (11) than any teammate this summer and completing the most passes (235) for Santos’ side.

Renato Sanches vs Paul Pogba

While Paul Pogba is yet to convince a worldwide audience of the hype that has built around him for some time and culminated ahead of this tournament, he is a model midfielder when it comes to youngsters who are unfazed by those around them. Now 23, the Juventus powerhouse is an experienced pro by contrast to Renato Sanches, though the latter perhaps looks more likely than any young player since Pogba’s emergence to emulate the success of the former Manchester United man.

At 18 he has already earned a huge transfer to Bayern Munich and proven in his brief outings this summer just why so many people are excited to watch his progression. Both players are comfortable under pressure and willing to prove themselves in a physical contest should an opponent attempt to dispossess them. Sanches has completed a dribble marginally more often than Pogba (every 32.8 minutes to 37.1) so it will be interesting to watch these two go head-to-head this weekend.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Samuel Umtiti

There’s no avoiding Cristiano Ronaldo, he just won’t let you, so when it comes to a key battle in Saint Denis this Sunday his clash with Samuel Umtiti may well be pivotal. The two are set to be rivals beyond this weekend given the latter’s impending switch to Barcelona, so this may not be the last time Umtiti has to try and limit Ronaldo’s influence. The young defender has equipped himself excellently for les Bleus thus far, only making his international debut a week ahead of the final. In the two matches he has played the 22-year old has complemented Koscielny well, putting his body on the line to make a number of crucial interventions against Germany. Moreover, having misplaced just 2 of 94 pass attempts thus far it’s little surprise a switch to Camp Nou has materialized.

Nevertheless, Ronaldo will no doubt be confident of exploiting any understandable anxiety or nervousness from the young defender. Now extremely well-versed in such high profile matches, despite flattering to deceive in a number of those, the Portugal captain may well view this as the biggest achievement of his career should he fire his nation to their first ever major international trophy. The incentive of potentially becoming the top scoring player in European Championship history having equalled Michel Platini’s record of 9 last time out should mean that the 31-year old is pumped up for this one.

WORD	MEANING	SYNONYM
1.      Showpiece	Something that is displayed or exhibited	Display, masterpiece, model, work of art
2.      Turf	A layer of matted Earth formed by grass and plant roots	Grass, lawn, sod, soil, peat, sward
3.      Avenge	To take vengeance or exact satisfaction for.	Vindicate, chasten, chastise, punish, redress, repay, requite, revenge
4.      Replicating	Folded, bent back on itself	Clone, depict, duplicate, imitate, mirror, reflect, repeat, reproduce, simulate
5.      underdog	A person who is expected to lose in a contest or conflict	Dark horse, longshot, bottom dog, out-of-towner
6.      Thrilled	To affect with a sudden wave of keen emotion or excitement, as to produce a tremor or tingling sensation through the body	Elated, atingle
7.      En route	On the way	Advancing, along the way, bound, driving, en voyage, entrained, flying, heading toward, in passage, in transit, making headway
8.      resolute	Firmly resolved or determined; set in purpose or opinion	Adamant, bold, courageous, obstinate, persistent, relentless, serious, staunch, steadfast, strong, stubborn, tenacious, uncompromising, unflinching, unshakable, unwavering, unyielding
9.      stride	To walk with long steps, as with vigor, haste, impatience or arrogance	Stalk, stomp, traipse, tramp, clump, drill, march, pace, parade, pound, stamp, stump
10.  decisive	Having the power or quality of deciding	Conclusive, critical, crucial, definitive, determined, fateful, forceful, influential, momentous, positive, resolute, significant
11.  commitment	The act of committing	Engagement, guaranteed, need, pledge, promise, responsibility, charge, committal, devoir, duty, liability, must, undertaking, vow, word
12.  exceptionally	Forming an exception or rare instance; unusual; extraordinary	Abnormally, especially, particularly
13.  interceptions	To take possession of (a ball or puck) during an attempted pass by an opponent team	Interference, stopping, interfering with, interposing
14.  pivotal	A vital or critical importance	Central, climatic, critical, crucial, decisive, essential, momentous, vital
15.  aerial	Reaching far into the air; high; lofty	Flying, aeriform, aeronautical, airy, atmospheric, birdlike, ethereal, lofty, pneumatic, up above vapours
16.  of the moment	Of importance at this time
17.  trailed	To tread down or make a path through	Chase, fall behind, falter, lag, pull, dally, dangle, dawdle, delay, dog, drag, draggle, draw, droop, extend, flag, halt, hang, haul, hunt, linger, loiter, plod, poke, procrastinate, pursue, shadow, shag, spook, spoor, stalk, straggle, stream, tail, tarry, tow, trace, track, traipse, trudge
18.  dribbled	To move (the ball or puck) along by rapid succession of short kicks or pushes	Drizzle, ooze, squirt, distill, drip, drivel, drool, drop, leak, run, salivate, seep, slaver, slobber, spout, trill, weep, fall in drops
19.  tallies	An account or reckoning; a record or debit and credit, of the score of a game, or the like	Poll, total, account, mark, reckoning, score, summation, tab, running total
20.  suspension	Something on or by which something else is suspended or hung	Break, freeze, halt, interruption, layoff, moratorium, period, postponement, stoppage, termination, abeyance, adjournment, breather, cessation, conclusion, cutoff, deferment, disbarment, discontinuation, doldrums, dormancy, downtime, end, ending, finish, five, intermission, latency, letup, pause, quiescence, remission, respite, stay, suspense, ten, time-out
21.  unfazed	Not dismayed or disconcerted; undaunted	Undaunted, unperturbed, calm, collected, composed, cool, nonchalant, casual, detached, placid, serene, tranquil, unvexed, unworried
22.  emulate	To try to equal or excel; imitate with effort to equal or surpass	Follow suit, imitate, mimic, mirror, challenge, compete, contend, ditto, do, follow, outvie, rival, do like, follow in footsteps, follow the example of, rivalize
23.  dispossess	To put( a person) out of possession, especially of real property	Evict, appropriate, eject, expel, expropriate, ousts, put of, throw into the street
24.  marginally	At the outer or lower limits; minimal requirements; almost insufficient	Kind of, lightly, somewhat, hardly, insignificantly, more or less, on a small scale, to some extent, scarcely any
25.  impending	About to happen; imminent	Approaching, brewing, imminent, looming, coming, gathering, hovering, menacing, near, nearing, overhanging, portending, threatening
26.  complemented	Something that completes or make perfect	Accompaniment, addition, aggregate, augmentation, balance, capacity, completion, consummation, correlate, correlative, counterpart, enhancement, enrichment, entirety, filler, makeweight, pendant, quota, remainder, rest, supplement, total, totality
27.  crucial	Involving an extremely important decision or result; decisive; critical	Central, compelling, deciding, decisive, essential, imperative, momentous, necessary, pivotal, pressing, touchy, urgent, vital, acute, clamorous, climacteric, desperate, dire, hanging by thread, high-priority, insistent, on thin ice, searching, showdown touch and go
28.  interventions	Interposition or interference of one state in the affairs of other	Interference, meditation, arbitration, intercession, interposition, interruption
29.  misplaced	To put it in a wrong place	Gone, lost, mislaid
30.  materialized	To come into perceptible existence; appear; become actual or real; be realized or carried out	Appear, emerge, happen, occur, realize, take place, turn up, unfold, actualize, coalesce, develop, embody, evolve, exteriorize, externalize, hypostatize, manifest, metamorphose, objectify, personalize, personify, reify, substantiate, symbolize, typify, visualize
31.  exploiting	To utilize, especially for profit; turn to a practical account	Abuse, apply, capitalize on, employ, handle, manipulate, mine, profit from, use, utilize, bleed, exercise, finesse, fleece, jockey, maneuver, milk, play, skin, soak, stick, work, avail oneself of, cash in on, get mileage out of
32.  anxiety	Distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune	Angst, apprehension, concern, disquiet, doubt, dread, jitters, misery, misgiving, mistrust, nervousness, panic, restlessness, suffering, suspense, trouble, uncertainty, unease, botheration, butterflies, care, creeps, disquietude, distress, downer, drag, fidgets, flap, foreboding, fretfulness, fuss, heebie-jeebies, jumps, needles, shakes, shivers, solicitude, watchfulness, willies, worriment
33.  flattering	To try to please by complimentary remarks or attention	Complimentary, favorable
34.  deceive	To mislead by false appearance or statement	Betray, cheat, circumvent, defraud, delude, disappoint, dupe, entrap, falsify, fool, hoodwink, swindle, trick, victimize, bamboozle, beat, beguile, bilk, buffalo, burn, clip, con, cozen, ensnare, fake, fleece, gouge, gull, hoax, humbug, outwit, rob, scam, screw, sell, skin
35.  achievement	Something accomplished, especially by superior ability, special effort or great courage	Accomplishment, attainment, creation, deed, effort, feat, performance, realization, success, triumph, victory, acquirement, acquisition, act, actualization, completion, conquest, consummation, contrivance, effectuation, enactment, encompassment, execution, exploit, fulfillment, hit, masterpiece, production, stroke, tour de force
36.  incentive	Something that incites or tends to incite to action or greater effort as a reward offered for increased productivity	Encouragement, enticement, impetus, motivation, reason, stimulus, allurement, bait, carrot, catalyst, come-on, consideration, determinant, drive, excuse, exhortation, goad, ground, impulse, incitement, influence, insistence, inspiration, instigation, motive, persuasion, provocation, purpose, rationale, spring, spur, stimulant, stimulation, temptation, urge, whip, reason why

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