Prediction: Ukraine vs France

Prediction: France win

Best Odds: 8/13

Bookmaker: 888sport

Domestic football has been put on pause for a few weeks in favour of the return of the international break – the first one of the new campaign. In the wake of the Euros and Copa America, as well as the Olympics, many would expect this to be a fairly inconsequential few weeks. Alas, the pandemic has ensured we have to speed up the process on the road to Qatar with Ukraine and France being two of the many European nations attempting to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Ukraine

Ukraine have a few star players within their ranks who are capable of producing moments of magic, but when you combine that with a squad that has an awful lot of heart and team spirit, it starts to get really interesting. They would’ve been one of the favourites to go out at the group stage of Euro 2020 but instead, they defied all expectations by making it to the last eight. Based on their style of play, we’d say they’ll be one to watch in the lead-up to Qatar 2022.

Team News

Zinchenko is set to miss out on this game through suspension and will likely be the biggest loss for the hosts. Elsewhere, Dovbyk, Trubin and Bushchan are all injured and won’t be fit in time to feature.

France

From world champions to being stunned by Switzerland on penalties – the French national team really did have quite the fall from grace at the Euros this year. They were favoured to win the whole thing beforehand but for whatever reason they’ve lost track of the team cohesion that got them to the dance in Russia. With four competitive draws on the bounce now recorded, it’s easy to understand why some fans are getting a bit impatient.

Team News

Mbappe is expected to miss out after sustaining a calf injury during the week. Kounde is suspended after picking up a red card against Bosnia with Tolisso, Upamecano and Kante all being on the shelf for a French team in desperate need of a win.

Factors to Consider

• Ukraine reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 whereas France only made it to the Round of 16.
• France have won two and drawn two of their WCQ games.
• Ukraine have drawn all four of their WCQ games.
• France have scored 11 goals and conceded seven in their last six games.
• Ukraine have scored eight goals and conceded 12 in their last six games.

Conclusion

This isn’t likely to be a classic by any stretch of the imagination but we do think it’ll be exactly the kind of game Les Bleus need. They’re struggling to put teams away and while Ukraine are difficult to beat, we do think if France go at them in the first 15-20 minutes or so, they’ll crack under the pressure. From there we expect them to grind out a narrow 1-0 win that should, in theory, all but seal their automatic passage into next year’s World Cup.

Prediction: France win

Best Odds: 8/13

Bookmaker: 888sport