Trapp will surely be #2 now. Curious to see who gets the 3rd spot: perhaps Leno (who laughably said at one point he should be Germany #1) will get the call.
I agree that Portugal did it in 2016 with aging CBs. Fact remains though that Pepe at 33 at the time was still playing at Real and Fonte, who was 32 himself was coming off an excellent season in the Prem with Soton. Haven't seen much of Vertonghen and Vermaelen this season but not confident in what they might have to offer at 34 and 35 respectively. Vertonghen was done at the Prem with Spurs, as he no longer could cope with the speed of the game in England. Love Alderweireld and wanted him at United, but seeing how he really struggled this season, glad we didn't end up making that move. The problem for Belgium is that there is no one of note who has been able to dislodge the old guard. Boyata is serviceable but he's definitely not top class and Denayer, who showed promise when he was younger, never really fulfilled it and he tends to be error prone. The key for the team is how Martinez manages to get something out of that group of CBs, especially once the tournament reaches the latter stages and they have to face good frontlines across the board. If he can solve that riddle, have to like Belgium's chances to go all the way. Would still be a surprise though but we'll see if one or 2 of the old lions can reach deep for one last hurrah.
Ruben Dias will be starting for Portugal. Fonte is second fiddle or one of three if they change formation to three at the back.
We're talking about the Portugal team in 2016 and their old CBs at the time compared with the old CB corp currently in the Belgian national team...
Wow, crazy but so overdue at the same time... Karim Benzema will be called up to France's squad for the first time since 2015, sources have confirmed to @LaurensJulien. pic.twitter.com/Rae3nV7n0c— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 18, 2021 A Griezmann, Benz and Mbappe front 3 (notwithstanding the options they'll have on the bench) is simply mouthwatering. Anthony Martial is expected to be named in France's Euro 2020 squad #mulive [l'equipe]— utdreport (@utdreport) May 18, 2021 Another one with whom big things are expected: he's fit again, fresh and will have something to prove...
It's about time tbh. Question now is what will Deschamps (and the FFF) have to say about them railroading Benz's international career for 5yrs, based basically on nothing more than hearsay and innuendo. For all intents and purposes, nothing has changed except for the fact that Benz will be going on trial finally for this alleged business with Valbuena later in the year I believe...
That guy cant catch a break. France was literally his only starting gig in the past 5 years. Funny thing is, he has probably been the best striker at his club for the past 5 years and no coach would role with him as the starter. He would kill it for a upper-mid table PL club like Everton or West Ham.
This is not the official Portugal squad for the Euros, but this illustrates why for me, they ought to be 2nd favorites after France for this summer. Santos led them to victory 5yrs ago but, as is the case with France, this is another example of a group you'd love to see being led by a manager just a bit more expansive/progressive in his approach, one who could make better use of all that offensive talent on hand. Pretty ridiculous tbh.
L'Equipe claim Benzema will get called up (shirt number 19) and TF1 will announce the squad later today. https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Art...pour-l-euro-les-raisons-de-son-retour/1253508 He's an exceptional player, but Benzema was out mainly because he insulted Deschamps by insinuating he was a racist. I'm guessing they patched things over finally. He was barred at first because he made a dumb mistake trying to play mediator to idiots who were blackmailing Valbuena. I don't think Benzema is in any serious legal trouble, what he did was stupid but he was not conspiring to blackmail his teammate, and I think everyone gets that.
What sticks out despite the obviously quality and depth, are the guys in exile of sorts who were recalled (Benz, Rabiot). Also, a legit case could have been made for a few guys (younger players particularly).
Notable players missing out on the Euros from the last 3 squads. France: Areola, Martial, Aouar, Fekir, Upamecano, Ndombele, Mendy (RM), Mendy (City). Ndombele ahead of Sissoko. Martial ahead of Thuram or Fekir ahead of Thuram. Areola over Mandanda. Ferland Mendy had a good season he should have been somewhere in there. I get Dubois as back up to Pavard since there aren't many RB's. Germany: Draxler, Brandt, Dahoud, Kehrer. Dahoud should have been picked over Emre Can, I thought he has been one of the better players for Dortmund this year. The rest are justified since they weren't starting for their respective teams. It would have been fun to see Brandt play in that tournament. Scotland: Burke and McBurnie get dropped. I am surprised by McBurnie being an EPL player dropped by Steve Clarke.
Real's Mendy is a surprise omission for me. The other Mendy, not so much since he's nowhere near the player he used to be. Fofana, Ndombele and Areola are others I would have picked. Didn't even realize at first that Martial failed to make the cut: unfortunate but his knee injury came at the worst time for him. Thuram is an able deputy. Even if some of Deschamp's choice might be questionable, it just highlights the incredible depth French football has at the moment. Great to see Low recalling Muller for Germany: would have been criminal to leave him behind.
Martial's injury was an easy excuse for Deschamps. He is back in training and will be fit in 2-3 weeks. He did pick Varane even though he is injured.
As mentioned, it's a tough break for him but his injury (in conjunction with a mediocre season by his standards), really didn't help matters. Deschamps clearly had him on his radar at the start of the season and things unfortunately didn't go his way: it happens. Marcus Thuram is an exciting player who has produced this season for Gladbach: this is really one of the least egregious picks Deschamps has made, especially compared to others (Sissoko?)... The Varane comparison does not really hold water either: he's the team captain, the leader at the back and therefore will always have way more leeway than most on that team.
France right now moving like the Brazil teams from back in the day: when you can field another solid XI out of players who were not picked after the twenty something that were...
Trent Alexander-Arnold is likely to miss out on a selection for England at the Euros. There is 'no indication' that TAA has leapfrogged his rivals in Southgate’s mind. [Via - @David_Ornstein] pic.twitter.com/gKK3Trcv3Q— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) May 17, 2021 I honestly have a hard time believing this will even happen but people do need to stop thinking of Trent as a lock at the RB spot for England. The guy has excellent attributes, that would make him a good ight sided midfielder (as Becks used to be) but it still does not change the fact that he's a poor defender. And a team that has any aspirations of going deep in such a tournament, a guy like Trent at RB simply will not cut it. All the same though, don't think Southgate will have the nerve to leave him out of the 26 next week. The fallout would be nuclear, especially if he puts in a few assists in the remaining Pool games.
Looking at Deschamps's decision to recall Benzema to the French national team. Didier Deschamps’ decision to recall Karim Benzema is a calculated risk | France | The Guardian