Who Should France start at Euro 2016?
Les Bleus have a stellar and deep roster. France produces the best footballers along with Brazil and Argentina, and this French generation is full of world-class players. From Raphaël Varane to Paul Pogba, France is an amazing squad, and Antoine Griezmann has gone from being elite in recent years to being a world-beater this season.
Didier Deschamps and France use a 4-3-3 formation, but and it’s possible the Front Three could be somewhat narrow on paper with Dimitri Payet and Antoine Griezmann deployed as playmakers behind a center forward.
At goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris is the regular starter for France, but Steven Mandanda is an impresser goalkeeper who was injured during the 2014 World Cup. Lloris has been the French goalkeeper since the 2014 World Cup, but Mandanda is fresh off winning Goalkeeper of the Year in Ligue 1.
At right back, Bacary Sagna has to be the starter. No younger right back has proven that they should start over the Manchester City right back, and Sagna is far from over the hill.
Raphaël Varane (the world’s best center back along with Thiago Silva) will be one of the starting center backs, and his center back partner was supposed to be Kurt Zouma who suffered a knee injury earlier in 2016. A Zouma-Varane pairing would have been a sight to see and arguably the best central defense pairing in the world. Now either Laurent Koscielny or Eliaquim Mangala will partner with Varane.
At left back, Patrice Evra is more than up to the task, and he enjoyed another great season with Juventus. Lucas Digne is the Roma left back, and he’s a younger player than Evra. Still, Evra doesn’t appear to be a liability due to his age. People tend to write off footballers once they reach 30, but there is a lot of evidence that age is really just a number.
The French Midfield Three should be Paul Pogba, Lassana Diarra, and Blaise Mautidi, but it’s possible that N’Golo Kante could possibly start over Big Bad Blaise. It’s also possible that Kante could start over Diarra, but both Diarra and Kante are defensive midfielders that all of the top European clubs want. Kante can play as a defensive midfielder or as a Number 8, but Matuidi deserves his due as a world-class Number 8.
The French attack should be Antoine Griezmann and Dimitri Payet play deeper and/or wide of some central forward. Karim Benzema was left off the squad for his behavior, so Anthony Martial could be the center forward unless Deschamps goes with the duller options of Olivier Giroud or André-Pierre Gignac who are both essentially big bruisers. Martial is actually a lot more muscular, taller, and more physical player than he gets credit for as a skill player. Make no mistake. Martial is a skill player whose technical ability is light-years beyond that of Giroud or Gignac who are capable strikers.
Below is the French lineup that we could see starting in the Euro Cup now called the dumb name of “UEFA Euro 2016”:
Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris/Steven Mandanda
Right Back: Bacary Sagna
Center Back: Raphaël Varane
Center Back: Eliaquim Mangala
Left Back: Patrice Evra
Right Midfielder: Paul Pogba
Central Midfielder: Lassana Diarra
Left Midfielder: Blaise Matuidi
Right Forward: Antoine Griezmann
Center Forward: Anthony Martial
Left Forward: Dimitri Payet