STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW Fri: France v Netherlands
The road to Germany begins here for European football’s elite, and there will be few bigger opening round clashes than France and the Netherlands’s showdown in Paris.
This will be the first time Les Bleus take to the field since coming within a penalty of winning back-to-back World Cups in Qatar, whilst The Netherlands experienced similar drama, also being eliminated by the eventual winners after an incredible comeback in their quarter-final.
Both are expected to seal their place at Euro 2024 with ease from Group B, which also contains Ireland, Greece and Gibraltar, and both are expected to play a leading part at the tournament proper – France are 6/1 joint favourites, and the Netherlands are 12/1 with starsports.bet.
With home advantage it’s no surprise that the French are 23/20 to start with a win here but enthusiasm is tempered slightly by their pre–World Cup form, when they just avoided relegation from the Nations League after winning only one of their six matches.
France v Netherlands
UEFA EURO 2024 Qualifier, Group B
19.45 Viaplay Sports 1
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
(Maximum 10 matches)
NOV 2018 NATIONS LEAGUE Netherlands 2-0 France
SEP 2018 NATIONS LEAGUE France 2-1 Netherlands
AUG 2017 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING France 4-0 Netherland
OCT 2016 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Netherlands 0-1 France
MAR 2016 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Netherlands 2-3 France
JUN 2008 EURO 2008 Netherlands 4-1 France
MAR 2004 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Netherlands 0-0 France
The Netherlands had a much more consistent 2022, winning their Nations League group in style (won five out of six games against Belgium, Poland and Wales) before making the most of a weak World Cup group, reaching the quarter-finals and making an incredible comeback against Argentina thanks to a Wout Weghorst double.
A new era begins for the Oranjie, with Ronald Koeman beginning his second spell in charge. Some changes could be in the offing – he could hand debuts to Sven Botman and Brian Brobbey after strong campaigns at Newcastle United and Ajax, Georginio Wijnaldum looks set to return to midfield, and all three goalkeepers have been changed since the World Cup.
There’s plenty of talent available to both him and Didier Deschamps, and the best bet in a game full of potential uncertainty might be to keep it simple and back Kylian Mbappe to score. Mbappe took the golden boot from Qatar thanks to his remarkable hat-trick in the final, when he scored in four separate games whilst also finding the net in two Nations League fixtures when France were struggling.
Mbappe has scored in 24 fixtures for club and country this season, and been the first scorer on eleven occasions, so backing him to break the deadlock and get on the scoresheet anytime might be the best course of action.
WILLIAM KEDJANYI
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PROFIT/LOSS (MAR 2023): LOSS -26.63 points
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