The hosts kick off the tournament at St. Denis Stadium in Paris on Friday, June 10th. Les Bleus have won both the previous international tournaments held in France. Didier Deschamps’ men are yet again very strong contenders for the European trophy.
France will be hoping to clinch their third European trophy after a wait of 16 years. The 2006 World Cup finalists are placed in Group A alongside Romania, Albania and Switzerland. France are easily one of the best teams on paper and if they perform to the expectations then they can easily top the group.
Despite having the home support, France cannot underestimate their Friday’s opponents Romania. Their impressive form of late has allowed the Romanians to break into the top 20 of the FIFA World Rankings. They have won ten and only lost one of their last 20 matches in all competitions. Four of their previous five meetings with France have ended in a draw and it won’t be a big surprise if the clash at the weekend also ends in a stalemate.
France’s form over the last six matches is far better than that of Anghel Iordanescu’s team. However, they are very hard to score against. Romanian conceded only two goals throughout their qualifying campaign.
It will be interesting to see how the young French squad will perform under the pressure of playing in front of their home support on such a big stage at a time of grave national crisis.
Recommended Tip:
Under 2.5 goals, best odds 1.79 @ Betfair