UEFA Nations League: Croatia Can Put Away France For Good

France vs Croatia

France and Croatia are to go at each other one more time here in the group stage of the UEFA Nations League when they’ll meet on Monday night at Stade de France.

Both nations are still at the bottom of Group A1 in this competition. However, Croatia are in much better shape following their victory over Denmark while France are now facing an uphill climb.

Les Bleus are fresh from a 1-1 draw against Austria, and Didier Deschamps’ men must get their act together if they’ll stand a chance to advance to the next round.

Their previous meeting few days ago ended in a stalemate as Adrien Rabiot and Andrej Kramaric both scored one goal apiece, and we expect more UEFA Nations League 2022 highlights to come from these two nations.

The pre-match SBOTOP betting odds are heavily backing the hosts to win, but this is likely going to be yet another close encounter.

Talking Points

France’s winless start is a concerning sign

Les Bleus’ false start has been disappointing considering their solid form prior to the beginning of this competition. They headed into their UEFA Nations League campaign with a ton of confidence since they were on a seven-game winning run across all competitions.

Their loss against Denmark and draws against Croatia and Austria have put them at a precarious position, but they still have a chance to move within the top two in Group A1.

Injuries have not helped since it forced Didier Deschamps to rotate his lineup more than he would’ve liked, although other coaches would be envious at the abundance of talent that he has at his disposal.

They’ve had three different goalscorers in their last three matches and they have arguably the best frontline in world football today with Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema leading the way.

Benzema scored France’s first goal of the tournament in their loss to Denmark, while Mbappe – who sat out the first two games due to a knee injury – bailed Les Bleus out when he came off the bench and scored the equaliser on 83 minutes against Austria yesterday.

The UEFA Nations League may not mean much for Didier Deschamps and co. since it only serves as a warm-up ahead of the Qatar World Cup in November, but for sure they wouldn’t mind at all if they win another trophy here.

Croatia looking to move up

Croatia got a huge shot in the arm in their UEFA Nations League campaign with their 1-0 victory over Denmark at the Parken on Friday.

Mario Pasalic scored the lone goal for the Croats in the second half, and that was enough to secure the win over the Group A1 leaders.

Denmark dominated the first half but they couldn’t capitalise as Croatia’s backline held on, which included some timely stops from goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.

The Danes almost salvaged a point when they found the back of the net courtesy of Jonas Wind during the closing stages, only for the VAR to not count the goal.

Zlatko Dalic’s side is now level on points with second-place Austria at four apiece and they can take the top spot if they beat France on Monday.

History

France have had Croatia’s number in international competitions as they’ve yet to be defeated by them. Prior to Monday, Les Bleus have won four and drawn once in their last five meetings.

Their most famous victory against the Croats came in the 2018 World Cup final. Furthermore, before their 1-1 draw on Monday, France got two wins against Croatia in the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League with an aggregate tally of 6-3.

In terms of recent form, these two countries are identical with two wins, two draws, and one loss in their last five fixtures.

Les Bleus, though, are in the midst of their worst run in an international tournament since 2010 with zero wins in their first three group stage games.

Betting Tip

France are the overwhelming favourites here in the updated UEFA Nations League 2022 odds as they’re priced to win at 1.55, while Croatia are installed at 5.80 and chances for a draw are at 3.80 in the 1X2 market.

Les Bleus are currently under pressure to come out with a victory, so fans over at Stade de France can anticipate a much better showing from their home team. Regardless of the final outcome, we expect goals to be coming from both sides once more – making Total Goal 2-3 @ 1.82 your best betting option for this match.

 

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