EURO 2016 Semi final 2- France 2-0 Germany, Report

Griezmann's brace sends France into the EURO 2016 Final

Marseille, France:- Antoine Griezmann's brace was enough to send hosts France into the EURO 2016 final at the expense of Germany.

Germany dominated much of the first half, but were unable to break into the French defence. In the 2nd minute of added time, the referee pointed to the spot because of a handball by Bastian Schwintieger  following a corner. Griezmann coolly converted the penalty, sending Manual Nueur the wrong way.

In the 72nd minute, Griezmann poked the ball into the net to seal the win for Le Blues. Nueur fluffed Paul Pogba's cross from the left, into the path of the Atletico Madrid striker.

In the first half, Benedikt Höwedes, the replacement for the suspended Mats Hummels, made a tackle-of-the-tournament contender on Oliver Giroud inside the box.

Liverpool's Emre Can and Manchester United's Bastian Schwintieger were Sami Khedira and Mario Gomez's replacements. Thomas Muller played up front for Die Mannschaft, who lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Germany were guilty of playing the game at snail's pace compared to France, who were rapid in bringing the ball into the opposition half.

France are set to meet Portugal in the final of EURO 2016, were they will start as favourites.

Euro 2016 Semifinal 1- Portugal 2-0 Wales Report and Ratings

Lyon, France:- Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani helped Portugal reach the finals of the newly expanded EURO 2016 at the expense of Wales. The game began cagey and took time to get going in the first half. Wales had 2 enforced changes to their starting XI, with James Collins and Andy King coming in for the suspended Ben Davies and Aaron Ramsey. Portugal also made changes to their team with Danilo and Bruno Alves replacing the suspended William Carvalho and injured Pepe.

Portugal's Danilo Pereira

Danilo was tasked with marking Welsh superstar Gareth Bale, and he managed to keep him quiet for much of the 90 minutes.
In the second half, Wales switched off following a shoot corner, left-back Guerreiro delivered a perfect cross for the magnificent jump of Ronaldo, who nestled it in the top corner. Ronaldo was again in the thick of things as his cross-shot was turned in by his former Manchester United-teammate Nani.



Gareth Bale and his Welsh team showed a lot of nerves during the match, which led them giving away cheap possession in the middle of the park. Absence of Aaron Ramsey was surely felt by the this Welsh team, which has already exceeded pre-tournament expectations by reaching the semi-final. Chris Coleman brought on Jonny Williams, Sam Vokes and Simon Church to reduce the deficit but they couldn't deliver.

Ratings

Portugal

Rui Patricio- GK 7- Wasn't troubled much by the Welsh attack apart from some Bale long rangers.

Cedric- RB 7- Coped well with the threat of Neil Taylor at the right back position.

Jose Fonte- CB 7- Did well when challenged. 

Bruno Alves- CB 7- An able replacement for the injured Pepe

Raphael Guerreiro- LB 8- Full of attacking industry down the left wing.

Danilo- CDM 8- Managed to keep Bale quiet all night. 

Joao Mario- CM 7- Made many penetrating runs into the final third.

Adrien Silva- CM 7- Much better choice than Andre Gomes, good ball control

Renato Sanches- CM 8- Ran the show for Portugal with an all-round industrious display 

Nani- RF 7- Typical Nani performance capped with an athletic finish.

Cristiano Ronaldo- LF 8- Led the team with example, calmed the team down during possession.

Coach Fernando Santos- 8

Wales

Wayne Hannessey- GK 6- Could've positioned himself better for Ronaldo's goal.

James Chester- CB 5- Was Ronaldo's marker for the corner but lost him.

Ashley Williams- CB 6- Nobody closed down Ronaldo for the second goal, the captain should take responsibility.

James Collins- CB 6- Kept Ronaldo in his pocket during the first half.

Chris Gunter- RWB 6- Needed to provide more thrust going forward.

Neil Taylor- LWB 5- Couldn't provide enough service for Vokes and Church.

Joe Ledley- CM 5- He had to be the enforcer from the midfield, but failed to do so.

Joe Allen- CM 5- Showed some nerves by picking up a Yellow card in the 8th minute.

Andy King- CM 6- Came close with some efforts at goal and troubled the Portugese defence.

Gareth Bale- CF 6- Apart from a couple of long-range efforts, didn't trouble the defence. Nerves got to him in the second half, when he misplaced many passes.

Hal Robson-Kanu- CF 5- Didn't get enough service to make something happen.

Manager Chris Coleman- 6

Man of the Match- Cristiano Ronaldo.