France vs. Brazil: Tactical Preview of International Friendly

France and Brazil lock horns in an enticing exhibition match at the Stade de France this week, with both sides still furiously preparing for upcoming tournaments. The Selecao—who are always expected to win—are gearing up for the Copa America, while Les Bleus have the task of hosting Euro 2016 firmly on the horizon.

France Setup

France's deep national pool has allowed Didier Deschamps to call upon some of the finest footballers in Europe, though he is missing key players in Hugo Lloris and Paul Pogba.

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Right-back, too, is perhaps a concern with Mathieu Debuchy still out; Bacary Sagna and Christophe Jallet, who has re-found form this season, will battle for the spot. Mamadou Sakho is in strong form and Deschamps likes him, but Raphael Varane could be in danger following his absence from the Real Madrid XI and Laurent Koscielny's concurrent strong performances for Arsenal.

Morgan Schneiderlin should hold the midfield and allow others to do what they do best, while Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann—two players who are excelling in La Liga—should be given the opportunity to continue fostering a relationship.

Brazil Setup

Neymar, captain of Brazil, will be expected to start despite admitting he was tired after Barcelona's most recent game. "It was difficult to sleep [after El Clasico]" the forward stated, per Sambafoot.com.

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Jefferson appears to be the pick in goal for the Selecao now despite Diego Alves' excellence in La Liga, and we should get a big glimpse of the future should Danilo and Roberto Firmino start. The former is drawing interest from Real Madrid and Manchester United, per Metro, while the latter is criminally underrated due to playing for unfashionable Hoffenheim in Germany.

Thiago Silva continues to lead from the back, and Luiz Gustavo retains a role in midfield to break up play. He'll be key, but we'll come to that later.

Key Point 1: Containing France in the Channels

The way France play will present a big test for four players in particular: Brazil's two full-backs and the holding shield of Fernandinho and Luiz Gustavo. Whether Dunga's 4-2-3-1 is truly ready, defensively speaking, could be ascertained here.

As we saw at the World Cup, Les Bleus like to push their central midfielders high up and have them breach the channels as delayed runners. During the tournament in Brazil, we nicknamed them "slingshot CMs" due to their propensity to catapult forward at a moment's notice and create overloads in weak areas.

Credit: ITV

It will be the primary responsibility of Fernandinho and Gustavo to track these runs and snuffle them out. The problem is that they're often made by Blaise Matuidi and Moussa Sissoko—two immensely powerful, athletic runners who can breeze past zonal marking systems in a flash.

Credit: ITV

If they've already breached the box, you're in trouble. And if they've hit the byline, you're probably about to concede. France play nice football but have a bruising edge that, when used, attracts so many markers that clever players like Mathieu Valbuena, Griezmann and Benzema can find pockets of space to hurt you.

Good luck to Brazil's defensive four (or six) who have to deal with that.

Key Point 2: Free-flowing Brazil?

Brazil at the World Cup, with Fred as the focal point of the attack, were very, very workmanlike. Much of the onus was on Neymar, and when he dropped out of the XI with a spine injury, they fell apart.

Dunga has sought to change that, and while his background is exceptionally defensive, too, he is at least trying to move past the Fred era and explore other options. Diego Tardelli started up front in the fixtures immediately after the World Cup, and now, it seems, Roberto Firmino and Luiz Adriano will get their chance.

Kerstin Joensson/Associated Press

Firmino, in particular, is a move toward a much more fluid system. He's not really a No. 9—more of a nine-and-a-half or even a false nine—and will likely drop into midfield to link play along the floor. Willian, Oscar and Neymar—all clever attacking midfielders who like to combine with short passing inside—will relish the chance to fill the space Firmino leaves, dragging defenders with him.

How this meshes with the veritable back six Dunga will likely employ remains to be seen, and this could be an intriguing dummy run to ascertain how the entire team connects back to front. Again, at the World Cup there was a chasm between Oscar and Gustavo at times; has Dunga fixed the build-up issues that plagued the Selecao on home turf?

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