Prediction: France vs Wales

Prediction: France win

Best Odds: 1/4

Bookmaker: 888sport

The domestic season may be over but the summer has only just begun. Between the Summer Olympics and the Euros we’ve got a whole lot to look forward to and as the countdown to kick-off for the latter continues, we thought we’d take a look at a friendly game between two of the teams set to take part. France and Wales will both participate in this year’s rescheduled European Championship and while they may not be the favourites to some, underestimating them would be a huge mistake.

France

If France are going to carry forward their success from the 2018 FIFA World Cup, they’ll need to do so with some ruthless efficiency because their group is an absolute disaster zone for potential banana skins. They’ll be taking on Germany, Hungary and Portugal over the course of the next few weeks and while outright elimination seems unlikely, they’ll definitely take a beating or two along the way.

Team News

Benzema is set to make his return to the national team after a five-year absence but it’s not yet known whether he’s going to feature here. The big names aren’t likely to make an appearance but Ben Yedder and Kounde could easily play a role.

Wales

Wales made a miraculous run all the way through to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 and counting them out of doing so again would be foolish – although they don’t have nearly as much momentum coming into this tournament as they did five years ago. Their group is also starting to look pretty tough with Switzerland, Turkey and Italy all probably thinking they should be the ones making it through to the knockouts courtesy of the top three spots.

Team News

Wales are actually expected to put out a strong starting XI with the logic being that a win here could really boost their confidence heading into the tournament, even if some question whether it’s the smartest idea in terms of picking up possible injuries so close to their first game.

Factors to Consider

• France will begin their Euro 2020 campaign on June 15, whereas Wales will begin three days earlier on June 12.
• France have won four, drawn one and lost one of their last six games.
• Wales have won four, drawn one and lost one of their last six games.
• France have scored nine goals and conceded five in their last six games.
• Wales have scored seven goals and conceded four in their last six games.

Conclusion

The Welsh have a tendency to put the cat amongst the pigeons but with this not really being a game that has all too many stakes attached to it, we do believe Les Bleus will be able to handle them fairly comfortably. That might sound a bit too overoptimistic for some pessimistic French supporters out there but at the end of a day, this is a friendly that won’t teach us all too much about the chances of either nation this summer.

Prediction: France win

Best Odds: 1/4

Bookmaker: 888sport