Euro 2016: 5 mistakes that cost France the final

The late Martial Substitution

Martial was brought on late in the match

The delayed introduction of Martial into the mix was the final nail in the coffin of France‘s hope of winning the final. For some unknown reasons, Deschamps delayed the introduction of Martial till the very end when all was seemingly lost.

With Gignac and Griezmann unable to break the resolute Portuguese defense and Pogba unable to create any magic France required the dynamism of Martial to force a result in normal time.

It was already evident with the introduction of pacey Kingsley Coman for Dimitri Payet, who was causing a lot of problems for the Portuguese defense and all that was needed now was another pacey forward to enter the field and break the defense down.

But, by delaying his introduction Deschamps condemned his own side to defeat against a resolute Portuguese side.

More than Portugal winning it, it was France losing it. In the key moments, the Portuguese manager Fernando Santos displayed remarkable calmness and tactical shrewdness to ensure Portugal win their first major trophy. Whereas, his opposite number Didier Deschamps made costly tactical errors in key moments that eventually led to his team‘s defeat.

As for Cristiano Ronaldo, his night started in despair but ended with joy and glory. A surprise end to a rather sedate and quite tournament.