UEFA EURO 2024 Quarter-Final Tactics: Portugal & France’s Paths To Victory – tactical preview

On Friday night, the Volksparkstadion will play host to one of the most eagerly anticipated fixtures between two of the tournament’s favourites heading into the summer.

France and Portugal will go head-to-head in a crucial EURO 2024 quarter-final tie, with both sides yet to display their true potential and fill their supporters with exuberating confidence throughout the previous rounds.

Roberto Martinez’s Portugal side emerged victorious in an emotional penalty shootout against Slovenia in a match marred by missed opportunities and a true lack of attacking invention.

The same could be said for Didier Deschamps’ France team, who squeaked out a 1-0 win against Belgium thanks to an own goal from Jan Vertonghen.

For all the attacking firepower on display between the two European heavyweights, both teams have displayed a significant amount of wastefulness in front of goal.

The Portuguese have shown the largest discrepancy between expected and actual goals, directly scoring just five times from a total xG of 7.73.

Similarly, Deschamps’ side have yet to find the net from open play, being the beneficiary of two own goals and a Kylian Mbappé penalty against Poland.

It begs the question as to whether both sides will hopefully benefit from a more energetic and expansive affair in Hamburg.

This tactical analysis will provide an analysis of the ways in which both France and Portugal have found success thus far, highlighting some aspects which could give them that crucial edge on Friday night.

Whilst the victor will be rewarded with an equally troublesome tie against either Spain or Germany in the semi-final, this fixture poses an excellent opportunity to hone their tactics and grow much-needed belief.

Predicted France lineup

Didier Deschamps has consistently deployed the 4-3-3, with France appearing incredibly comfortable in their tactical systems.

They have protected Mike Maignan in goal with a defensive line comprised of Jules Koundé, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba and Theo Hernández.

Aurélien Tchouaméni, N’Golo Kanté and Adrien Rabiot were preferred as the midfield trio against Belgium, aiming to support the front line of Antoine Griezman, Marcus Thuram and star man Kylian Mbappé.

One alteration to this lineup is out of their hands, with Rabiot suspended due to accumulation of yellow cards, opening the door for Dembélé to return to the starting lineup with Greizmann potentially dropping into midfield.

Thuram has yet to impress as France’s attacking outlet through the centre, leading many to wonder whether Randal Kolo Muani may be preferred after his match-winning introduction last time out.

Predicted Portugal lineup

Roberto Martínez has the luxury of picking from the entirety of his squad for his Portugal starting 11 Euro 2024 squad, with the Spanish manager expected to place faith in his starting 11 from the Slovenia match despite emotions boiling over in Frankfurt.

Diogo Costa was his nation’s saviour against Slovenia, becoming the first goalkeeper in European Championships history to save three penalties in a single shootout.

In front of him, Nuno Mendes, Pepe, Rúben Dias and João Cancelo combine to make up the Portuguese defence.

Vitinha, João Palhinha and Bruno Fernandes remain in the middle of the park, just behind the attacking trio of Bernardo Silva, Rafael Leão and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Even though we would expect Portugal to stick with the 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, which has brought them this far, key substitutions will have to be modified to increase their strength later in the match.

Both Jota and Conceição have been effective off the bench, but the option to remove Vitinha really damaged their progression in the last game, almost resigning themselves to going to extra-time instead of winning in regulation.

With Palhinha often dropping deeper in the early phases of build-up, Vitinha stands out as Portugal’s key midfield progressor and plays a crucial role in linking the midfield and attack.

However, sacrificing the PSG midfielder for another forward forced Portugal into ambitious long passes in order to reach their key attacking outlets, with huge gaps between the lines.

Portuguese reluctance through the centre

After Portugal’s opening fixture with Czechia, we highlighted how their three-man defensive system limited their attacking versatility and contributed to their cross-heavy approach.

Despite emerging victorious, this necessitated Martinez’s switch to the 4-3-3, allowing Palhinha to sit at the base of a three-man midfield and Bruno Fernandes to be more influential in Portugal’s attacking play in the final third.

Subsequently, Portugal ran away with the victory in their game with Türkiye; with Fernandes given the license to roam between their oppositions defensive and midfield lines.

Additionally, the out-and-out full-backs of Cancelo and Mendes were much more defined in their attacking roles, providing an element of uncertainty for Türkiye with their overlapping and underlapping movement.

However, against Slovenia, Portugal appeared to revert to some old habits, seemingly looking to control the perimeter and consequently relieving Slovenia of pressure through the centre of the pitch.

Unlike their clash with