Within football, it’s integral for players to actually play as part of a team. It’s all well and good to have some of the best individual talents in the beautiful game, but if they cannot play as a collective then this can hamper any major successes. This is most integral on the international stage during tournaments such as the Euros because teams have less time to generate chemistry and a strong understanding with each other.
Going into Euro 2020, France have the experience from winning the 2018 World Cup and a functioning tactical system that makes them hard to beat while also providing the platform for their skilled attacking individuals to provide the difference. Les Bleus are the favourites in the
Euros betting with odds of 9/2 to win the tournament, although England and Belgium aren't far behind. However, France will take a lot to beat.
Les Blues are likely to line up with a two striker formation such as a classic 4-4-2 in order to take advantage of the up-front partnership with both Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema. By doing so, it brings together two of Europe’s best forwards this season from two teams that have definitely underperformed domestically, Real Madrid and PSG. Didier Deschamps does look to have taken advantage of not only this partnership, but also the fact that France has a very capable set of strikers that also includes Antoine Griezmann and Wissam Ben Yedder.
The system in which he has placed them involves a narrow diamond midfield with both Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante, which forces wingers out of the team initially. A lack of width could cost them if they are caught on the counterattack as the inherent issue of facing a wide formation on the break is that the wider central midfielders get forced out of position in order to cover the space the wingers occupy. This in turn leaves gaps in the middle of the pitch.
Utilising a narrow system also omits some of France's better attacking wide options such as Kingsley Coman and Ousmane Dembele, both of which have had good seasons for Bayern and Barcelona respectively. Dembele especially looks to have recaptured some of his best form since joining the Catalan side for an
eye-watering £135m. As much as bringing back Karim Benzema could be a good thing for France, there's an argument to say that it goes against Didier Deschamps' own philosophy. The likes of The Guardian for example have coined Olivier Giroud as being the manager's preferred type of striker as
a functional player who sets an example.
If one specific nation gets the best out of their respective players with a tactical system, then there’s no reason why they couldn’t go and win the entire tournament. This is more likely to be teams such as France and Belgium, but there's no reason to suggest that others could not spring a surprise like Portugal did at the last Euros, as France will be more than aware.