3 France Weaknesses Portugal Could Expose in the Euro 2016 Final

Now they've made it to Paris, albeit hardly thrillingly, Portugal need to focus on how they can pull off what would be one of the more unlikely European Championship successes on Sunday.

The odds will be heavily stacked in favour of hosts France, who have certainly impressed during their month of performing in front of their own fans, but they—and Portugal, for that matter—have had a fairly kind route to their nation's capital and were somewhat fortunate to beat Germany in their semi-final on Thursday.

That means some of their weaknesses haven't been exposed in this tournament, and it is up to Portugal boss Fernando Santos to try to do just that.

What are those deficiencies, though? Here are three that could just be cropping up in Portugal's team meetings.

The Full-Backs

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While there have been changes—usually enforced ones—at the heart of the French defence throughout the tournament, coach Didier Deschamps has steadfastly stuck with full-backs Patrice Evra and Bacary Sagna, who are the two oldest players in the France squad at a combined age of 68.

It has meant the pair's understudies, Lucas Digne and Christophe Jallet, are two of the three outfield players in the squad yet to have tasted any action this summer. That won't change in the final, as Evra and Sagna will line up for what could be their last appearances for their country.

The pair have been solid enough in the tournament, but they have yet to face truly tricky wide players whose first thought is to take them on.

Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani will know Evra well from their time together at Manchester United, and Nani in particular might spend a little more time out on the right flank than he did on Wednesday against Wales, whose three-centre-back system proved one of the most difficult to play against during their terrific tournament.

Evra and Sagna's lack of pace could be exposed in the final, and Santos will perhaps use Ricardo Quaresma as an impact substitute to do just that.

The Back of Midfield If N'Golo Kante Doesn't Start

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It was somewhat surprising Deschamps chose to omit N'Golo Kante from the starting lineup against Germany after he was available again after suspension, with the France manager instead choosing to keep faith with the same XI that beat Iceland in the quarter-finals—only introducing Kante for Dimitri Payet with 19 minutes remaining.

That meant starting with Blaise Matuidi and Paul Pogba in the centre, with Moussa Sissoko tucking in to offer defensive support. You only have to look at the result to ascertain it worked out all right in the end.

There is a sense France were a little lucky, though—especially in the first half, when Germany were able to play through them almost at will, with Mesut Ozil shining and both Bastian Schweinsteiger and Emre Can going close with shots from distance.

What often let them down was the final ball into forward Thomas Muller, both in the sense that the pass wasn't accurate enough or the run from the out-of-form attacker wasn't the best.

Not starting Kante again would be a huge risk from Deschamps and would almost be an invite for the exciting Renato Sanches to roam free as an attacking midfielder, where he has the quality to make the difference—even on this most elevated of stages.

Stage Fright

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Portugal know this fear all too well, having suffered from it themselves when they were the hosts widely expected to win Euro 2004.

Back then, Greece were the unheralded underdogs in the final, and captain Ronaldo will surely mention his memories of that game to his team-mates prior to kick-off on Sunday.

The Portugal captain was a raw 19-year-old with the world at his feet when he stepped out onto the pitch at an expectant Estadio da Luz, but despite the fervent backing of the home crowd, Portugal weren't able to break down a stubborn and determined Greece team, who held firm to win 1-0.

Twelve years on, Ronaldo will relish the chance to make his opposition feel as bad as he did that night.

If Portugal can stay compact and stick together—something they have largely done well throughout this tournament—then the crowd is likely to start to grow nervous, and that nervousness could transfer onto the pitch.