World Cup 2022: France Have a Score to Settle with Denmark

France vs Denmark

France plan to end their skid against Denmark when it counts as they’ll face off anew this weekend for their second Group D match in the ongoing World Cup 2022.

Prior to Saturday, Denmark have defeated France two consecutive times in the UEFA Nations League, so another defeat for the latter is going to be a huge letdown.

Les Bleus lead the group with three points after a convincing win over Australia, while the Danes were held to a goalless draw against Tunisia on Tuesday.

Didier Deschamps’ men can essentially confirm their passage to the knockout stage with a win here, and the pre-match SBOTOP betting odds are backing them to do just that to put an end to the so-called “World Cup curse”.

Talking Points

Another injury blow for France

As of this writing, France only have 24 available squad members. They’ve been on the receiving end of one bad World Cup 2022 news after another because the injury bug continues to wreak havoc on their roster.

The latest casualty for Les Bleus is Lucas Hernandez as he tore his ACL during their 4-1 victory over Australia on Tuesday.

The Bayern Munich full-back limped off the pitch and was seen holding his knee after losing the ball to Mathew Leckie, who found Craig Goodwin on a dime for the Socceroos’ only goal. He was replaced by his brother Theo, and the AC Milan defender is going to start against the Danes.

Les Bleus had already seen several key players ruled out of Qatar prior to Lucas Hernandez.

Ballon d’Or awardee Karim Benzema and Christopher Nkunku were already ruled out after suffering injuries in training last weekend, while Presnel Kimpembe, N’Golo Kante, and Paul Pogba are listed as long-term absentees.

The good thing for France is that they are one of the deepest teams in the tournament, and they still have enough quality to possibly go all the way.

Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe will continue to shoulder the heavy load, while guys like Benjamin Pavard, Marcus Thuram, and Jules Kounde might see more opportunities moving forward.

Denmark lacked the cutting edge

It’s not the end of the world for Denmark after being held by the less fancied Tunisia, but they must be more clinical especially against a team like France.

On Tuesday, Christian Eriksen did all he could for Denmark as he sent in a series of dangerous crosses to threaten Tunisia’s backline, but his forwards couldn’t convert.

In fact, Tunisia were the more proactive side to start the game and they also missed a couple of chances – including one sequence where Issam Jebali almost scored past Kasper Schmeichel.

As the game grew on, Denmark improved and they almost won the game. However, Andreas Skov Olsen’s second half score and Yassine Meriah’s potential handball were both ruled out by the referees.

Kasper Hjulmand is certainly not satisfied with their performance since they squandered two precious points.

History

France hold the slight edge in their head-to-heads with Denmark. Before Saturday, France have won eight times, while Denmark have won in six along with two draws.

This will be their fourth meeting at the World Cup. It’s interesting to note that Les Bleus have gone on to win the tournament in two of the three previous occasions that they were grouped alongside Denmark (1998 and 2018).

Didier Deschamps’ side has won each of their last five World Cup games and they can become the first nation since Spain in 2010 to win six in a row.

Kasper Hjulmand’s men, meanwhile, have been held to a draw in their last four World Cup games. Only Belgium have ever had five straight draws in the tournament – between 1998 and 2002.

Earlier this year, Denmark almost sent France to relegation in the UEFA Nations League as they defeated them twice via an aggregate tally of 4-1.

Betting Tip

France are being backed by the World Cup 2022 odds this Saturday. Les Bleus are priced at 1.85 to win, whereas Denmark are pegged at 4.20 and chances for a draw are at 3.45 in the 1X2 market.

Even with their myriad of injuries, France have shown the heart of a champion since they were sharp up front against Australia and they’ll fancy their chances against a toothless Denmark side.

Les Bleus are unlikely to blow this game wide open since the Danes are a much stronger outfit, but they should score a handful of goals – making Total Goal 2-3 @ 1.96 a sound alternative bet.

 

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