France Group Points Tip

The 1998 champions are shaping up well for this summer’s tournament and should advance from Group E with relative ease. Stood in their way are Switzerland, Honduras and Ecuador; France may drop points somewhere along the way but it shouldn’t be a problem.

It was so nearly very different when Les Bleus trailed 2-0 to Ukraine after the first leg of the qualification play-offs. But a rousing 3-0 triumph back in Paris gave this side a momentum which it has carried all the way to Brazil. A 2-0 victory over Netherlands followed in March and a recent 4-0 romp against Norway did little to dampen expectation.

Didier Deschamps was captain when France won in 1998 and he now leads a team which looks strong through the spine. Hugo Lloris commands in goal, Patrice Evra brings experience to the defence and Paul Pogba is becoming a star in midfield. The attacking threat begins with the roaming Franck Ribery while Olivier Giroud is now a genuine option either alongside or instead of Karim Benzema.

Honduras look pretty weak and the French should also have too much for Switzerland and Ecuador. However the smart move is to back Les Tricolores to take 7 points from Group E at best odds of 11/4 (Bet365).

It’s unusual to see even the best teams take maximum points and 7 is normally sufficient to take the coveted top spot. If France hit the ground running then I wouldn’t be surprised to see them ease off in their final group outing against Ecuador. But equally, if they were to get held to a draw in either of the first two games then they have the class to reach 7 points with a final flourish.