Sunday, December 22, 2024

Spain trio out as Mbappe continues mask struggle for France – predicted line-ups

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Spain have no choice but to shake things up for their huge Euro 2024 semi-final against France tonight, live on talkSPORT. 

La Roja beat hosts Germany to book their place in the last four and continued their 100 per cent winning record at the tournament.

Spain knocked Germany out to set up a clash with FranceCredit: Getty

They have been incredibly impressive and will now take on Les Bleus who have been on the opposite end of the entertainment scale.

Kylian Mbappe and co still haven’t managed to score a goal from open play, booking their place in this game after beating Portugal on penalties. 

Luis de la Fuente and Didier Deschamps will be assessing their options ahead of the semis and talkSPORT.com takes a look at how they could line up…

Spain 

Spain head into this semi-final knowing that three of their stars will be missing. 

During their clash with Germany, centre-back Robin Le Normand picked up his second yellow card of the tournament and is now suspended. 

Dani Carvajal suffered the same fate and he would go on to get sent off anyway meaning he can’t play a part against France either. 

It means De la Fuente will have to change things at the back, potentially bringing in Real Madrid’s Nacho Fernandez and former Man City man Jesus Navas

Nacho and Navas would join Aymeric Laporte and Marc Cucurella in defence as they sit in front of goalkeeper Unai Simon. 

Pedri will play no more part in Euro 2024 while Carvajal and Le Normand are outCredit: Getty

In midfield, Pedri won’t play again in Germany after picking up an injury last time out and Dani Olmo is likely to take his place. 

He’ll line up alongside Rodri and Fabian Ruiz who are arguably two leading contenders for Player of the Tournament. 

In front of them, Spain’s front three will remain the same with young stars Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams set to cause chaos out wide again. 

Alvaro Morata was reported to have picked up a yellow card while celebrating against Germany which would have seen him suspended. 

However, UEFA have confirmed he wasn’t booked and he’ll lead the line as captain. 

France 

France don’t have any suspensions or fresh injury issues for the semi-final and that could prove to be a huge advantage over Spain. 

Deschamps made a couple of changes to his side against Portugal with Randal Kolo Muani and Eduardo Camavinga starting. 

However, he may bring those two players back out of his team this time out. 

Mike Maignan will be in goal, of course, while the back four of Jules Kounde, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba and Theo Hernandez have been superb. 

Aurelian Tchouameni and N’Golo Kante will start in midfield and rather than Camavinga, they could be joined by Adrien Rabiot.

The Juventus star missed the last game through suspension but he’s back for this clash. 

Mbappe won’t be getting dropped despite his struggles with the mask onCredit: Getty

Antoine Griezmann has started in a deeper role for his country at times but he may move forward to join the front line. 

If he does, he’ll be working in tandem with Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele as Kolo Muani will likely drop back to the bench. 

Mbappe hasn’t been at his best at Euro 2024 and that largely comes down to his broken nose causing problems for him. 

Having to wear a mask seems to have led to his performance level dipping, but Deschamps has defended him and is expected to continue with him in his starting line-up. 

A move into striker instead of on the left wing could be the solution for Les Bleus. 

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