Prediction: France vs Iceland

Prediction: France win

Best Odds: 2/9

Bookmaker: bet365

International football is back in our lives over the course of the next two weeks, and that should be cause for excitement – despite the fact that many fans would much rather be watching domestic football. We’ll be seeing a series of different nations continuing their road towards UEFA Euro 2020, and two such countries who will be interesting to keep an eye on are France and Iceland. The two polar opposites will be facing off against one another this week, and while it may be a friendly match, it’ll certainly showcase where they’re both at in terms of their development.

France

When you win the World Cup it can often be difficult to motivate your team for what’s ahead, but when it comes to the French, they appear to be more than ready to tackle the European Championships. They’ve got one of the deepest squads in the game today, and it’s not unreasonable to suggest that they could put together three completely unique starting XIs and still win the majority of games they play in. They won’t be afraid of anyone right now, and that especially goes for Iceland.

Team News

Dimitri Payet has been brought in to replace Nabil Fekir who is out with an injury, with Tanguy Ndombele being looked upon as the next big thing after receiving his first call up.

Iceland

When you spend so long with the title of being the underdogs, sometimes, that can have an impact on you. There’s no denying that Iceland’s heroics back at Euro 2016 will be remembered for a long time, but in equal measure, it feels as if some fans were too hopeful regarding what they could achieve at the World Cup. They’ve certainly been on a downward trajectory as of late courtesy of the opposition they’ve been playing, and while that may have been expected, their loyal fanbase will still be looking for a big response.

Team News

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and captain Aron Gunnarsson are both big absences for Iceland, although Jon Thorsteinsson is expected to make some noise on his debut.

Factors to Consider

• The game will be played at Guingamp’s Stade Municipal de Roudourou.
• France won the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
• Iceland were knocked out in the group stages of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
• France have won five and drawn one of their last six games.
• Iceland have drawn two and lost four of their last six games.

Conclusion

Les Bleus will be approaching any game they go into from now on with bucket loads of confidence, and so they should. Their World Cup triumph earlier this summer proved why they truly are the best team in world football, and we think they’ve going to prove that yet again in this one. We can see them overwhelming Iceland from the word go, and they won’t even need to get out of first gear. We think the visitors will get in on the act scoring wise, but in the end, the French will ease towards a comfortable 4-1 win.

Prediction: France win

Best Odds: 2/9

Bookmaker: bet365