eFootball PES 2020: Portugal & France EURO Matchday Squad Builders

The UEFA EURO 2020™ Matchday is finally in-game in eFootball PES 2020 along with other themed events & featured players. Players can participate in the matchday picking the National team of his/her choice. PES previously had rolled out a EURO 2020™ Datapack on 4th June where we had got only National Team flags and jerseys in our User Profile to change. But since last week, we are finally having some Euro 2020 content in-game we all have been waiting for. We will be looking forward to bring you some exciting EURO Matchday Squad Builders in PES 2020 in the meantime.

You can check out the full format & schedule of the full UEFA EURO 2020™ Matchday in PES here. Previously, we have covered the squad builders for popular European teams like Italy & Spain as well as some underdog but exciting teams like Serbia & Norway. We will be covering all the popular European teams and bring you their Squad Builders for the EURO Matchday in PES 2020. So, let’s get started with today’s Squad Builders for two very exciting & popular teams in real-life and in PES as well, Portugal & France. Both teams have a great squad, and they are the reigning Euro & World champions respectively. They faced each other in the Euro 2016 Final is Paris as well, where Portugal beat France 1-0 after Extra Time.

Portugal EURO Matchday Squad Builder

First up in our EURO 2020 Matchday Squad Builders in PES is Portugal, the reigning European champs. They have a great squad and a very talented bunch of players currently and are one of the contenders for the Euro 2021 as well. They feature one of football’s all-time greats Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as promising players like Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Joao Felix etc. These players make the Portugal Preset Matchday Squad exciting to play with as well, especially the combination of the midfielders and the attackers is fascinating. The defence does just fine.

Manager & Formation

Fernando Santos has been massively successful with his Portugal job, probably becoming their best ever manager after he led them to the Euro in 2016 as well as the UEFA Nations League last year. He is probably one of the most used managers in PES with his massively popular 4-3-1-2 Counter formation. However, his formation was changed to a slightly attacking version of a 4-3-3 i.e. 4-1-2-3, with spots for two AMFs and one DMF. His preferred style of play has also been changed to Possession play.

Starting XI

Portugal have good squad depth, and you can play with the positions of some players. Multiple players being capable to play at different positions make this squad very dynamic. We’ve picked our preferred Starting XI like this:

• Forwards: J.Felix (SS), C.Ronaldo (CF), B.Silva(RWF)
• Midfielders: J.Moutinho(CMF), Danilo(DMF), B.Fernandes(AMF)
• Defenders: R. Guerreiro(LB), R.Dias and Pepe (CBs), J.Cancelo(RB)
• Goalkeeper: R.Patricio

You can also choose to play a 2AMF midfield, with Bruno in the left and Bernardo in the right. Pizzi comes in for Moutinho and plays at RWF. But we find the team becomes less dynamic and less balanced in this case. You can also shift Ronaldo to the left, and bring in Andre Silva at CF for Felix. He is a very good No.9, as well as a great at receiving long-balls and finishing them off. But Ronaldo becomes less effective and his finishing abilities are not put to proper use in this formation.

Tactical Analysis

Now let’s come to the tactical discussion of the Portugal squad. Santos’ formation operates similar a classic 4-3-3 on the pitch, just it allows the AMFs to push higher up the pitch while attacking. As we did previously, we’ll discuss both offensive & defensive tactics in this squad builder. So let’s get into it.

Offensive tactics

The offensive phase basically means when you are trying to build an attack. Let’s see how you can shape the attack for Portugal:

• The best way to play the ball out from the back and build an attack is by creating passing triangles. If you are a fan of possession play, you must know what a passing triangle means. However, if you don’t, this is what a passing triangle looks like:

• You have to constantly move forward while maintaining passing in triangles, and try to move the play forward through the wings as Santos’ default attacking area is wide. Suppose you are building an attack through the right side. Then the first passing triangle can be created between the AMF, RB & the DMF. As you move forward, the triangle is created between the AMF, RWF & the CF. You can also use the RB who likes to make overlapping runs forward.
• The Portugal midfielders & attackers combine well between them, making this transition very smooth & dynamic. Players like Bruno, Bernardo, Ronaldo, Cancelo can combine well in the right side. In the left, Moutinho, Guerreiro, Felix and Ronaldo can combine to build an attack. Our suggestion will be to not use Ronaldo too much in the build-up because he needs to stay closer to the box for finishing chances that are created.
• However, in case Ronaldo drops a little deeper or drifts aside, Bernardo Silva & Joao Felix tend to make runs into the box, trying to utilise the space. Ronaldo has good one-touch skills and can play through balls into the space looking for the wingers to get inside and shoot.
• The fullbacks Guerreiro & Cancelo are both make forward runs, and they can provide width. They are both good with crosses so you can cross inside looking particularly for Ronaldo.

Defensive tactics

The defensive phase is basically when the opposition is attacking. You have to tighten the spaces and snatch away possession from the opposition attackers.

• The Santos formation is defensively little weak since there’s no box to box midfielders. That’ why we choose to play Danilo as the DMF in this lineup, who’s an Anchor Man by playstyle and is very sound when it comes to defensive awareness, interceptions & ball-winning. He has enough physical power to hold off the opposition attackers and recover the ball.
• The whole midfield block pushes down, as well as the fullbacks. The fullbacks Cancelo and Guerreiro have a good pace, so the trackback quickly. They are not as sound defensively but with their pace, you can recover balls from the opposition.
• Both CBs Ruben Dias & Pepe are good defensively, and they are particularly well with ball clearances. So try to clear the ball in the first place without taking any risks.
• Players like Ruben Dias, Danilo, Moutinho & Bruno are good with long-balls, so you can immediately launch a long-ball for starting an attack after winning the ball back, and Ronaldo is great when it comes to dealing with long balls as well.

That concludes the first of our EURO 2020 Matchday Squad Builders in PES, Portugal. We hope that you have fun playing with this great squad!

France EURO Matchday Squad Builder

Next up in our EURO 2020 Matchday Squad Builders in PES is France, the reigning World champions. They have a great squad and a very talented bunch of players and are one of the top contenders for the Euro 2021. The France squad has a great mix of youth and experience, with players like Mbappe, Griezmann, Kante, Pogba, Varane etc. They have immense pace on the flanks and upfront which makes this team dangerous.

Manager & Formation

Didier Deschamps is only the third footballer ever to have won the World Cup both as a player (1998) and a manager (2018). He has been one of the most successful French coaches, with a World Cup in his bag after failing to Portugal in the Euro 2016 Final. His preferred has always been a kind of 4-2-3-1 or the 4-4-1-1, however, his most recent formation in a PES is 4-2-3-1, which looks more like a 4-4-1-1 initially. His preferred style of play is Possession play.

Starting XI

France have good squad depth, with backup in almost every position. Our preferred France XI looks like this:

• Forward: K.Mbappe (CF)
• Midfielders: Lemar(LMF), A.Griezmann(AMF), Pogba, Kante (2CMFs), Coman (RMF)
• Defenders: L.Hernandez, C.Lenglet, R.Varane (3CBs), B.Pavard(RB)
• Goalkeeper: H.Lloris

You can also play Olivier Giroud in CF, switching Mbappe to RMF and Coman to LMF. You can play this lineup if you like more hold-up play through the middle as Giroud as a Target Man helps in that. But to use the devastating pace of Mbappe upfront, we use him as our CF. Also, you can play Benjamin Mendy as the LB instead of Lucas Hernandez, but as the team lacks a DMF so we prefer using 3CBs to provide more solidity in the defence.

Tactical Analysis

Now let’s come to the tactical discussion of the France squad. As we did previously, we’ll discuss both offensive & defensive tactics. Deschamps’ formation operates as a 4-2-3-1 in the offensive phase, even you can see a 4-2-4 at times. In the defensive phase, everybody except the CF tracks back, making it a 4-5-1.

Offensive tactics

Let’s see how you can build the attack for France:

• The main attribute of this team, which you can possibly understand by looking at the XI is pace. Our wide and front players possess a devastating pace to run through the opposition defence. So we have to try to create spaces for these players which they can exploit with that pace. This tactic goes with the fact that Deschamps’ default attacking area is wide. Try to keep the ball with the midfielders, and whenever you see space opening up for wide players or the striker, release him with a through ball.
• Mbappe can drift wide at times to support the wide players, so space is created in the middle which Griezmann can utilise. Griezmann operates almost as a second striker in this formation, holding the ball up in the offensive areas, and can also shoot if he finds space. His Hole Player style fits his position perfectly.
• Mbappe is easily one of the best forwards in-game for online matches, he is a great receiver of through balls (both lofted and low). With players like Pogba, Kante, Griezmann behind him who can put great through balls for him to run on to, you’ll always have an edge over the opposition.
• Players like Lemar, Hernandez and Pavard have the ‘Early Cross’ trait which you can use to send in crosses into the box looking for the forwards. Though Mbappe and Griezmann are not too good at dealing with crosses, still you can have a go.
• Kante & Pogba almost operate as a double pivot, pushing forward. They can help in quick build-ups with their one-touch passing trait. Pogba is also a great shooter from distance. So if you find an opportunity, always have a go.

Defensive tactics

The defensive phase is basically when the opposition is attacking. You have to tighten the spaces and snatch away possession from the opposition attackers.

• The whole midfield block of 5 players shifts back in the defensive phase, making it almost a 4-5-1. The absence of a DMF is one of the reasons why we choose to play 3 CBs in the back 4. Kante and Pogba both operate as box to box players, and they both have great stamina and aggression to snatch the ball back from opposition attackers. Kante is one of the best pressing agents with his Destroyer playstyle, 96 stamina, and he also has great defensive awareness and ball-winning abilities. Pogba, on the other hand, is more about beating the opposition player with physicality and aggression.
• All 3 CBs and Pavard are very sound defensively, with great defensive awareness, ball-winning and interception abilities. Moreover, Varane & Hernandez are two of the fastest CBs in-game, so you can recover the ball back with that pace even if you lose the ball at first.
• The best way to counter after you win the ball back is by releasing the pacy players in space. You can successfully build a quick counter through the likes of Coman, Lemar, Griezmann and Mbappe. Also, players like Varane, Pogba, Pavard have the ‘long-ball expert‘ trait which you can use to send long balls directly for Mbappe to run onto and build a solo attack.

France is definitely a great team to play with, particularly because of the pace and intensity of the players. Hope you enjoy playing with the France team following these tactics.

When do Portugal & France appear on Matchdays?

Portugal & France appear among the ‘Home teams’ under the Konami Cup preset teams Matchday for National Teams each Monday. In the Euro group stage Matchdays, they appear on 21/07/20 as France face Hungary & Portugal face Germany. They appear again on the last group stage Matchday on 26/07/20 as Portugal & France face each other. So, we hope our guide will help you to perform well on those Matchdays along with the Konami Cup Matchday. Good luck!

Note: All the tactics and team selections are based on our playing experience with these teams. Your experience might be different, and we’ll be more than happy to hear your experiences and opinions about more exciting teams to use for the Matchdays, in the comment section below.

Next up, we have more Squad Builders coming in for the EURO Matchday in PES 2020!

Did you find this article helpful? Which team do you use for Matchday? Also, what other squads do you want us to build for the EURO Matchday? Let us know in the comment section below! Read our other PES articles here.

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