Four pointers ahead of Euro 2016 final: Deschamps, defences, Kante, Ronaldo

He was described by Hugo Lloris as the “architect” of France’s success. But if he was feeling apprehensive about how his grand project would stand up on the biggest stage of all, Didier Deschamps certainly wasn’t showing it. “I don’t feel any stress or pressure,” he said. “Just adrenalin - and that’s positive.”

It will be the biggest occasion of his coaching career, whatever else may lie in store: it is impossible to conceive of a more significant occasion than a major tournament final played out in front of your home crowd. Yet Deschamps was the very picture of calm in his press conference on Saturday, joking with reporters, speaking eloquently about his team and country giving a little insight into one of the most impressive coaches at this tournament.

France may have a team full of quality but their build-up was extremely difficult. What other coach has ever lost their star striker to a sex-tape blackmail scandal and then been accused of having racial motivations for excluding him from the squad? Deschamps had to shoulder all that controversy, not to mention numerous injuries, but once the finals started he worked quietly at his task.

He has not been afraid to drop star names - Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann were both benched for the second match - he found a new tactical solution which has catapulted his star forward into football’s stratosphere and in the semi-final against Germany he oversaw the defeat of the world champions. There have been mistakes along the way, but the man once derided as a “water-carrier” by Eric Cantona is one game away from lifting silverware instead.

If he does, Deschamps will be only the second man to ever win the competition as a coach and player after Berti Vogts. But the German, who coached the winners of Euro 96, was only on the bench in 1972 for West Germany. Deschamps captained France at Euro 2000. "The best place to be is out there as a player and sometimes I am frustrated I can't put my boots on,” he said on Saturday, but doing a double as coach will be something special.

It’s a dilemma, alright. Deschamps has two formations he has used in this tournament: 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3, often both in the same game. The former has been dominant in the knockout stages and gets the very best out of Antoine Griezmann, while badly restricting the impact of the team’s other superstar in waiting, Paul Pogba. The latter gives Pogba much more freedom to do what he does best, but means Griezmann is far less effective in a wide-right role.

Griezmann’s incredible form suggests Deschamps is right to keep using him in a central role behind Olivier Giroud, but although he scored twice in a 2-0 win over Germany in the semi-final, a two-man midfield of Pogba and Blaise Matuidi was overrun and France were highly fortunate to be leading at half-time. When N’Golo Kante did come on in the second half to make it a 4-3-3, Pogba created the second goal inside 60 seconds. So you can see the problem Deschamps has - especially after a match which essential gave supporting weight to the claims of both formations.

With Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani in a front two, supported by breakthrough star Renato Sanches, you can certainly see the argument for Kante’s inclusion, even if Griezmann’s body of work at the Euros strongly indicates that he should be indulged as much as possible. How Deschamps calls it will have a huge bearing on the outcome of the result.

The French story has been all about Griezmann’s goals but their defence was outstanding when keeping a clean sheet against Germany in the semi-finals. Hugo Lloris has had a magnificent tournament, making some world class saves, Laurent Koscielny has been consistently impressive and Samuel Umtiti, who came into the team to make his international debut in the quarter-final win over Iceland, has been a real revelation. The French defence will not wilt in the face of Ronaldo.

Portugal have also shown an aptitude for keeping it tight on occasions throughout the tournament, though not always. In the knockouts they haven’t given much up at all, conceding just once against Poland. Deschamps made a point of highlighting the strong unit they have at the back, with William Carvalho returning from suspension to anchor the midfield and, crucially, Pepe fit again at centre-back.

“Portugal have a lot of quality and it’s no accident they’re there,” he said. “Like us, they were criticised at the start of the competition. Like us they are now in the final. They are an experienced team that can modify their system to deal with opponents. Their defensive triangle is solid. They have other good players like the full-backs who cross the ball a lot.

“Of course they count a lot on their forwards, Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani. They don’t try to win the ball back high up the pitch, but they try to break quickly with their two fast players up front. I’m not saying they just defend, they use the ball well, but they do try to break quickly.”

Cristiano Ronaldo's strike partner Nani has been one of the stars of the tournament, even if his contribution has been inevitably overshadowed by the planetary ego of his colleague. They each have three goals, and while together that only matches Griezmann’s tally on his own, it shows an impressive synchronicity between the men, who have both drifted in from their more familiar wider roles to form a two-man attack in Fernando Santos’ 4-4-2.

Nani has lived perennially in the shadow of Ronaldo but his use as a centre-forward has been a renaissance moment in his career, earning him a move to Valencia. Still, it must be acknowledged that one man stands out above all others. Even Didier Deschamps conceded it is hard to stop him. "If there is an anti-Ronaldo plan, no one has yet found the recipe," Deschamps said. "He's a very top player, he's got great athletic attributes in the air. It's not just that he can get up high but he can hang there was well.

"His six-pack is there for a reason, but he has the two things that are very tough to combat in football - pace and the aerial threat. It would be great to neutralise him and we need to also limit his influence. That will be important to do."