Sweden vs France
France begin their Nations League campaign with a trip to Sweden on Saturday and the World Champions are determined to make a winning start.
But it won’t be easy. UEFA Nations League; Sweden vs France is one of the biggest games in an entertaining open round of fixtures, and we can expect Didier Deschamps to put out a strong France side as he prepares to continue Les Bleus’ domination of European football.
The first ever UEFA Nations League was a great success, bringing excitement to the previously meaningless procession of friendly internationals, and now it’s a trophy France want to win. They are currently second in the World FIFA rankings, on the heels of neighbours Belgium, and this opening match in Group A3 at the Friends Arena in Solna is a good test against the 17th ranked Swedes.
Talking Points
France are favourites for the title…
Didier Deschamps’ has a wealth of talent to choose from and in Kylian Mbappe, one of the most exciting players on the planet. So it’s little surprise that Les Bleus are the favourites to win this Nations League, available at odds of 5.00 here at SBOTOP to lift the trophy at the second attempt, after Portugal won the inaugural competition in 2019.
The French head to Solna with a strong squad, though they will be without Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, who has tested positive for COVID 19. That could leave an opening for Rennes’ 17 year old wonderkid Eduardo Camavinga to take his international bow. And there could also be a start for Red Bull Leipzig’s gifted young defender Dayot Upamecano.
Up front Deschamps has a frightening array of goal scorers to choose from. Alongside Mbappe he has Barca’s Antoine Griezmann and Chelsea target man Olivier Giroud, with Wissam Ben Yedder pushing for a start after an impressive first season at Monaco where he scored 18 goals in 26 games.
Griezmann has had a tough first season at the Camp Nou and he might think he has a point to prove, but he’ll need to be at his sharpest to pierce a stubborn Sweden defence.
France are odds on at 1.80 to win Group A3, while the Swedes are outsiders at 14.00 in a difficult group containing holders Portugal and 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia.
Les Blues will want to put down an early marker.
But Sweden are tough to beat on home soil
The Swedes come into the Nations League after completing a successful European Championship campaign, when they finished second to Spain in a strong group containing Norway and Romania. And they begin this competition with a seven match unbeaten run, since losing 3-0 away to Spain.
At home Janne Andersson’s side has lost just one game in seven and has a solid look about it. Roma’s 6ft 5in keeper Robin Olsen is a colossus between the posts and centre back Victor Lindelof has just enjoyed his best season at Manchester United. But the Sweden boss knows how difficult this game will be. “There are no bad teams in League A so we knew we would end up in a group with very good teams,” he says. “We have six really tough challenges ahead where we will test ourselves against some of the world’s best teams.
“During the pandemic we made the best of the situation. We feel as prepared as we can be.”
History
Of course, France are the reigning World Champions and the have their sights set on Euro 2021, and while Griezmann will use the Nations League to experiment with some younger players, they are in it to win it!
Sweden are worthy opponents having reached the 2018 World Cup quarter final and they are on a good sequence of form.
Les Bleus have bossed the head to head Sweden vs France results with four wins, three draws and two defeats in the nine meetings since 1978; and the two teams met in qualification for the 2018 World Cup, each winning their home game by 2-1.
Recent form has been impressive on both camps, with identical records of five wins and a draw from the last six games and this game is going to be tight. So let’s take a look at the Sweden vs France betting odds and make a call.
Betting Tip
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Sweden vs France | France 1X2 @ 1.76 |
| September 06, 02:45 (GMT+8) |
Sweden are at 4.27 to win this opener with the draw is available at 3.45, but I think France have too much quality to be held by the stubborn Swedes, who have recently played out 1-1 draws with both Spain and Norway.
The hosts will try to stifle their flamboyant visitors and Les Bleus will have to be patient. For an alternative bet 1-0 to France is the most likely score line at odds so 5.22, while a half time/full time bet of Draw/Away is at 4.48.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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