Two European heavyweight nations square off in Friday night Nations League action, with visitors Italy looking to move on from their poor showing in Germany just a couple of months ago when they face France in Paris.
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France v Italy Betting Tips
France v Italy Match Preview
Just when club football gets started for another season are the brakes then slammed on for an international hiatus. Slightly frustrating for those who devour every episode of the Premier League’s weekly soap opera but a clash between France and Italy should soften the blow.
A clash that sees the two former World and European champions square off in the latest edition of UEFA’s Nations League competition and with the peak of League A now seeing two teams move on to the finals stage, this will come as some relief to both Les Blues and The Azzurri.
Whereas only the group winner would progress to the finals stage previously – a stage that France won outright during the 2020/21 edition, that level of jeopardy of has been removed in order to create further later on.
No longer as cutthroat as this four team group could have been, both France and Italy will have to not only navigate the tasks of facing each other but also fellow upcoming opponents Belgium and Israel.
For France and manager Didier Deschamps, it is the beginning of a new international cycle and one that should mean qualification to the 2026 World Cup in North America. Should that be the case as expected, it will also mean the defence of the Jules Rimet won four years previously.
While on the topic of trophy defences, Italy will want to move the conservation on as quick as possible and after beating England at Wembley in the final of Euro 2020, they were then dumped out at the Round of 16 in Germany earlier this summer.
A tournament to forget under manager Luciano Spaletti and considering Italy were kings of the continent just over three years ago, their removal from the throne was symptomatic of how indifferent this Italian team can be.
Were it not for Mattia Zaccagni’s 98th minute leveller against Croatia in the group stage of Euro 2024, the Italians would not even have made it to the knockout phase and if there luck was in that night, their luck certainly run out against the Swiss.
That said, Friday’s hosts did not have all that much like in Germany and especially Kylian Mbappe, who suffered a broken nose in France’s opening game. Never the same in the tournament after that injury, he will look to show more of the usual when it comes to scaring opposing defenders.
But now it is time for the first of my two tips and after not liking Italy’s output in Germany, I think France only add to their recent woes with a win on home soil and I also think they will be one-nil up at the interval – a scenario which is currently priced at odds of 13/5.
In addition to this, I am going to opt for Kylian Mbappe to use his head in Paris and at odds of 22/1, you would have to say why not? If the Real Madrid star scores a header, he will not be the only one celebrating such a profitable outcome.
France v Italy Betting Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| France Odds | 3/5 |
| Draw Odds | 13/5 |
| Italy Odds | 4/1 |
Odds courtesy of Betfred, correct at the time of publication
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