France Starting Samuel Umtiti over Eliaquim Mangala vs. Iceland Would Be a Risk

France will meet Iceland at Stade de France on Sunday in the last of the 2016 UEFA European Championship quarter-finals.

After shocking the world by knocking out England with a 2-1 win in Nice on Monday, Lars Lagerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson’s men will be confident that they can pull off an even bigger shock and eliminate the hosts.

Les Bleus were on course to be the victims of a surprise defeat after falling behind to Robbie Brady’s early penalty in Lyon, but Didier Deschamps’ men eventually recovered to win 2-1 against the Republic of Ireland.

A much-improved second-half performance saw the French hit back through an Antoine Griezmann double, and the final winning margin could and should have been bigger than one goal, particularly after the Irish had Shane Duffy sent off after 66 minutes.

Deschamps was relieved that his players turned it around, but a place in the last eight came at a cost; both Adil Rami and N’Golo Kante were booked at Parc Olympique Lyonnais, and the pair will now miss the Iceland clash through suspension.

The Leicester City man’s absence should not be too big a concern for France. Deschamps withdrew Kante at half-time against Ireland, replacing him with Kingsley Coman and switching from a 4-3-3 formation to a 4-2-3-1.

Considering how well the hosts played in that shape for the second 45 minutes, the 47-year-old tactician is likely to line up the same way against the Icelanders in Paris on Sunday.

Paul Pogba will occupy the right-sided but slightly deeper central-midfield berth, with Blaise Matuidi on the left and slightly further forward.

Assuming he recovers from the injury he picked up late on against the Irish, Coman would start on the right, which would enable Griezmann to remain just behind Olivier Giroud, and Dimitri Payet would stay on the left.

Replacing Rami in central defence is more complicated, though. With the Sevilla man suspended and Laurent Koscielny one booking away from a ban, Deschamps should pick his replacement for the former wisely.

As France Football’s Philippe Auclair reported, the 1998 FIFA World Cup-winning and 2000 UEFA Euro-winning former captain is expected to start Samuel Umtiti alongside Koscielny. In doing so, he would be handing the Olympique Lyonnais man his senior international debut.

According to Sport, Barcelona are currently negotiating with the French giants for the 22-year-old central defender, and OL president Jean-Michel Aulas has admitted that the Yaounde-born youngster could leave.

The 67-year-old Frenchman said: "We don’t have any need to sell. It’s been said we have financial problems, but that’s not true. In the case of Samuel, everything will depend on what he decides to do with his future. We will respect his decision, but as of today, there’s nothing, and we are in no rush because he’s our player."

Umtiti is a talented left-footed player. Strong and athletic, he is also surprisingly technical and capable of playing at left-back as well as in the middle.

The Lyon man could work well alongside Koscielny, who is primarily right-footed, as Deschamps prefers to have a balanced centre-back pairing of one right-sided and one left-sided player.

However, the big question regarding Umtiti is his lack of experience. There is no doubt that he is a gifted player and a future international, but it is a big risk to throw him in at the deep end for a quarter-final against a team as dangerous as Iceland.

Deschamps’ other option is Eliaquim Mangala, and although the Manchester City man has not been convincing for France in the past, he could be the wiser choice for Sunday’s clash at Stade de France.

The 25-year-old has only seven more caps than Umtiti, but he does at least have experience at a major international tournament, having been part of Les Bleus’ 2014 World Cup squad in Brazil two years ago.

Mangala finished the season strongly and was particularly impressive for City against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, and playing him might reduce the potential vulnerability of the hosts’ back line.

Rami starting alongside Koscielny was never Deschamps’ ideal scenario, and the loss of Raphael Varane to injury pre-tournament was a big blow. The Sevilla man has fared reasonably well since the start of the tournament, though, so losing him now is a pain.

Koscielny and Mangala might not be an ideal central-defensive pairing, but it would at least be balanced and have some experience, while Umtiti would be a gamble.

Picking Mangala over Umtiti for a game of such magnitude would not reflect poorly on the Lyon star; it would just be a logical decision from Deschamps.

So far, the former Olympique de Marseille tactician’s logic has guided the French to the quarter-finals. If he sticks to his guns and goes for Mangala, then he could be rewarded with a semi-final berth.

Equally, it is possible that Umtiti could also come in and help the hosts to the last four of the tournament. However, in terms of minimising the risk factor ahead of the encounter against an unpredictable Iceland, Mangala would appear to be the less risky of the two options.