France vs Iceland
European football returns to the Stade de France on Monday with the match of the night, as Erik Hamren’s Iceland arrives to take on France.
Both teams won their opening fixture of Euro 2020 and Iceland has a liking for the big stage, having qualified for Euro 2016 and Russia 2018, stunning the likes of England and Argentina at the finals. But this is probably their biggest test so far.
Erik Hamren’s Iceland had a nice opener, away to Andorra, which they navigated comfortably, while the World Champions blew Moldova away with a first half three goal blitz.
The Icelandic thunderclap will reverberate around Paris, and it’s the hosts’ job to keep it quiet. It’s going to be quite a night!
Talking Points
France can get even better
Les Bleus won the World Cup in scintillating style and the early Euro 2020 betting odds suggest a repeat may be on in Europe’s big international competition. Didier Deschamps has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal, and in their opening fixture four different players scored as they dismantled Moldova.
Kylian Mbappe took Russia 2018 by storm and he was on target again in the opener. The young PSG star can only get better, but he needs to keep a lid on his attitude. With world class talent often comes arrogance, and he was one of the PSG players who thought they could strut to victory over Manchester United as the French giants crashed out of the Champions League. In Moldova he was the subject of close attention, and some nasty challenges, but he did take an embarrassing dive late on, against a team which was dead and buried. There’s no doubt he’ll be a big feature in the Euro 2020 highlights package.
Antoine Griezmann is France’s highest ranked player, sitting seventh in UEFA’s latest list, which is topped by Spain’s Sergio Ramos. Griezmann bagged the best goal of the night against Moldova, getting on the end of a brilliant Paul Pogba ball to rifle a volley into the roof of the net.
Deschamps has such strength in depth that he can bring players with the class of Lyon’s Nabil Fekir off the bench; and that’s a sobering thought for any opponent.
Iceland’s big players with big hearts
Hamren’s minnows have enjoyed remarkable success over the past three years, which landed them in League A of the UEFA Nations League, though coming up against the likes of Belgium will eventually take its toll and they will play in League B next season.
Everton’s Gylfi Sigurdsson provides a real touch of class – he’s top scorer with 20 and is the heartbeat of the team, able to dictate the pace of play and turn defence into attack with an incisive ball. Iceland’s best chance of a goal is to win dead ball opportunities. If Sigurdsson is presented a chance within shooting distance then France keeper Hugo Lloris, who’s seen him many times in the Premier League, knows what to expect. He has the ability to pull off the spectacular.
Burnley’s Johann Berg Gudmundsson has struggled with injury this season but has returned to fitness and will be a key player in the Clarets’ survival campaign. He’s an intelligent player, with the ability to beat a man, an eye for goal and a strong work ethic. His 71 caps are testament to his worth to the Icemen.
And up front FC Augsburg’s Alfreo Finnbogasen may be the target for the creative players’ supply.
History
Iceland is the smallest nation to qualify for a World Cup and they already had a taste of finals football, qualifying for the 2016 European Championships where they came to the world’s attention by beating England on the way to the quarter final.
The underdogs came into this tournament on the back of three away draws, to Qatar, Sweden and Estonia and so are four matches unbeaten.
But they have never beaten Les Blues in 11 attempts, losing seven and drawing four.
France comes into this game on the back of a comfortable away win to Moldova and, of course, with the World Cup in the trophy cabinet.
Betting Tip
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France vs Iceland | France First Half -0.75 @ 1.91 |
| March 26, 03:45(GMT+8) |
According to the latest SBOBET odds Iceland is in for a hot night at the Stade de France, with the hosts at 1.22 to win. The draw is at 6.50 and Iceland at 9.75.
The Icemen have overcome bigger odds than that before but France hardly got out of second gear in sweeping Moldova aside. Les Bleus scored three in the opening half on Friday night and I’m backing them to get at least one against Iceland.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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