France vs Denmark

2018 World Cup winners France meet Denmark in the 4pm (GMT) kick-off on Saturday 25th November at Stadium 974 in Ras Abu Aboud, Doha, Qatar.

This should be a great game to watch and although France are the bookies’ odds-on favourites, Denmark should be able to give them a game, especially if they perform like they did in the 2020 European Championships.

Denmark made it through to the semi-finals of Euro 2020 whereas France were knocked out in the Round of 16 by Switzerland. Of course, there’s no denying that France have an exceptional squad who are capable of winning this tournament but they’re not without their flaws and are prone to conceding against teams who pose a threat.

Following an early scare against Australia, who took the lead against the current World Cup holders early on in their game on Tuesday, they went on to win 4-1 and top Group D with 3 points.

Denmark are an organised side but also dangerous at the other end of the pitch as proved by finding the net 30 times and conceding just 3 in their 10 qualification matches for this competition. A win for them against one of the tournament’s favourites could give them a huge advantage in making it through to the knockout stages and it’s not out of the question that they could get a result in this game.

Their 0-0 draw against Tunisia was a tough match for them and this one won’t prove to be any easier. However, they beat France twice in their Nations League campaign this year and will head into this game taking confidence from that.

This is a difficult game to bet on in my opinion but should be a great one to watch. France could be 2-0 up at half time or we could see a much tighter match should Denmark be able to keep their organisation.

I would love to see Denmark get something from this game and they’ll be mildly confident of doing so based on recent meetings with the cup holders.

France are 4/5 for the win and Denmark 4/1.

4/1 is a big price on Denmark considering they have beaten France twice this year and although they have failed to score in the World Cup so far, they do have goals in them as they proved when finding the net in 18 of their last 21 matches.

Either team can win this match and I can’t commit to either. Therefore, I’ll be backing the draw at a good price of 3/1 with Bet365.

As I’ve backed the draw, 1-1 and 2-2 seem most likely to me. I’m siding with the latter at a big price of 18/1.

France have a lot of quality going forward and many will be expecting them to get on the scoresheet. However, they are prone to leaking a few and so 2-2 is a result I can see happening.

Both sides should have their chances in front of goal and so I think Both Teams To Score – Yes (21/20) is a likely outcome.

As France are the favourites in this clash, their attacking players will be shorter than those of Denmark. However, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Denmark bag the first goal and I’d back Andreas Skov Olsen (12/1) as the player to do so. The 22-year-old Club Brugge winger scored 5 times throughout qualification for the World Cup and will be eager to impress in the tournament.

I think any of the possible combinations of HT/FT could occur and so I’d be willing to take a chance at big odds for Denmark to be leading at half time and the match to finish in a draw at 18/1.

Under 3.5 cards would be my selection in this match. Although it could be a tight affair, both sides are relatively composed which should result in the referee dipping into his pocket infrequently.

France expected starting lineup:
Lloris; Pavard, Varane, Upamecano, T. Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Giroud

Denmark expected starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Andersen, Christensen, Kjaer; Kristensen, Hojbjerg, Eriksen, Maehle; Skov Olsen, Dolberg, Damsgaard