World Cup Qualifiers: Ukraine vs France Preview Odds Prediction

Ukraine and France meet on Saturday in arguably the crucial match for the outcome of Group D of the Euro World Cup qualifiers. France is currently first, four points ahead of Ukraine, and both teams slipped in the previous round losing points in matches they weren’t supposed to. France was very pale against Bosnia and Herzegovina at home, while Ukraine also didn’t thrill vs. Kazakhstan on the road. This is a chance for redemption, but also, the hosts’ last opportunity for making things a bit spicier in this group.

Preview

Ukraine (+550) wasted a perfect chance to cut the gap between them and the Gauls, playing just 2-2 with Kazakhstan on the road. Shevchenko’s side had the lead on two occasions, the second one in the 93rd minute, but eventually conceded a shocker in the fifth minute of the injury time. It is arguably a massive demoralizer for the Ukrainians.

With those two points, they would be chasing first place in the group with a win against the direct rivals, and in this case, even with three points on Saturday, Ukraine is still second.

The match vs. Kazakhstan was the fourth in the previous six for this squad, with both teams netting, and the fifth in the recent seven with over 2.5 goals. Overall, they love to play interesting and open football, and they’ve shown that already in the EURO.

France (-195) snapped one point against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, 1-1, displaying utterly poor performance. The Gauls had luck for not conceding after Kounde’s red card in the 51st minute, thus making their situation in the standings far more complicated.

All the superstars, Mbappe, Griezmann, Varane, etc, were far below the expected level, and the pesky guests managed to escape from Paris with one point in their pocket. After four matches, France has two wins and two draws and is one step away from securing a direct spot in Qatar.

On the other hand, this is the fourth consecutive match without a victory for them. All of them ended without winners – vs. Hungary, 1-1, Portugal, 2-2, Switzerland 3-3, but they would lose after the penalty shootout. If they manage to get out with at least a draw in Ukraine, that would be superb for Deschamps’ crew.

Latest News

The biggest star in Ukraine, Manchester City’s left-back, Oleksandr Zinchenko, skips the match because of the yellow-card suspension.

Kounde is suspended for this match, while N’Golo Kante and Corentin Tolisso are out due to injuries.

Head to Head Matches

The last game took place in March this season in Paris. It ended without winners, 1-1, but the one in October 2020 saw the Gauls beating the guest 7-1.

Prediction

Ukraine has nothing to wait here but needs to attack right from the start, which will leave their backline exposed. If there is one thing France likes to do, that is to strike from the counter-attack, which is why we strongly propose betting on their victory in this case. Mbappe and Griezmann brought the World Cup title to Paris on that strategy, so why not beating Ukraine.

Pick: France to win