Thread by @pythaginboots

#FRASUI - Euro 2020 Tactical Thread

Key points:
- Lack of width from France
- Switzerland bully Lenglet and Varane
- Rabiot is not a defender; barely a midfielder
- Both sides style of play is a reflection of their mentality

CC: @TacticalPad

#EURO2020 #FRA #SUI

To accommodate Rabiot filling in at LWB, #FRA had to adjust their defensive structure.

They started in a back five but would have the ball sided wingback press the player in possession, joining the midfield line, forming a 4-4-2 as #SUI are forced to go backwards.

In doing this, #FRA give #SUI time to switch to the opposite flank, isolating the French central defenders as they change positions, making crosses into the box easy... as we saw.

#SUI had a very easy time progressing the ball up the left side.

Including both Rodriguez and Zuber was a brilliant idea as it allows Switzerland to play with two natural wide players on the left. I (@CamH___ ) did not expect this, I thought it was too aggressive.

Lenglet wasn't solely responsible for the first goal, #SUI did well to overload the leftflank.

With that said, Lenglet should not have been the central defender in a 3/5 man backline. He really struggled to win his duels.

Varane and Kimpembe did not shower themselves in glory either. As a matter of fact, the most composed member in the France backline was not even a defender.

With no natural width, France were easy to defend against.

This is how the #FRA attacking structure looked. They were far too predictable in their ball progression and #SUI defended brilliantly. They did struggle in some 1v1s,but given the quality of France, they can be proud.

When #FRA brought Coman on it changed the game. France were now able to force a #SUI wingback to mark him, giving Mbappe, Griezmann and Benzema space to run into the channels more freely.

We predicted an overreliance on individual ability in our preview. Deschamps has suffered an injury crisis at #EURO2020 but his tactical understanding of the game is suspect when we consider the resources he DOES have at his disposal.

Ultimately, France go out of Euro 2020 as a group of individuals, rather than a team, managed by a man who struggles to get the best out of all his players.

This current group of French players have won all there is together. A new direction in management is necessary.

After missing a penalty to further their lead, then conceding three goals afterwards, is a slippery slope to come up from.

Switzerland dug deep and found the strength to come back while France tuned out, did not respect their opponents, and failed to play like World Champions.

If you've enjoyed this thread, consider following and retweeting it as we will be doing post match threads for all the games during #EURO2020 , as well as match previews for all the upcoming match days on our website: pythagorasinboots.com/euro-2020/