France will host Ireland in the UEFA EURO 2024 5th qualification round of Group B match at the Parc des Princes Stadium. The fixture will take place on Friday, September 8, beginning at 00:15 IST.
Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.
France News & Current Form:
In qualifying group B, where the national teams of France and Ireland play, there is a confusing situation. The teams played a different number of matches due to the fact that the Dutch team participated in the final tournament of the UEFA Nations League.
All this is interesting from the point of view that there will be no clarity with the second ticket to the European Championship until the end of qualification. With the first ticket after four days of play, everything seems to be clear. If the French beat the Irish at home, they will be able to prepare for their trip to Germany.
By and large, the French, since 1982, have not fallen out of the top teams in world football. Different generations have changed in the team, leaders have come and gone, and all of them have left their mark not only on the pitch, but have inscribed their names as winners of World and European Championships, as well as other prestigious tournaments.
The Tricolours have also won the Nations League, although this tournament has only been played three times so far. And now there is such a generation of players that there are plenty of them for two national teams, and the flow of these talents is inexhaustible.
Take, for example, the attack. The veteran Olivier Giroud has not yet said his last word, Antoine Griezmann may leave the scene in a couple of years, but they are already ready to be replaced by Kingsley Coman, Ousmane Dembele and Marcus Thuram, who has just scored his first goal for FC Inter Milan. All this is not counting the youngest of the mentioned trio, Kylian Mbappe.
Kylian Mbappe – top scorer of Paris Saint-Germain and French national team
From the names of top European teams, for which players of the French national team play, mottles in the eyes. According to this indicator, the national team is not comparable to any other. The French football championship in the European hierarchy is only fifth, but its players are in demand from the English Premier League to the German Bundesliga.
France have delivered a 100 per cent performance in their four rounds of Euro 2024 qualification. With 12 points, the team solely topped the Group B standings with an impressive 9:0 goals scored and conceded ratio.
The French started this campaign with a big 4:0 home win over the Netherlands. Then they managed to beat their upcoming opponents 1:0 away. After that, at the beginning of the summer, the French national team defeated a weak Gibraltar 3:0 away and on their field with a minimum score of 1:0 managed to defeat the team of Greece.
In four matches the Blues have not conceded a single goal, while they have scored nine. Mbappe scored four of them, he also scored one assist.
Kylian played not the least role in the fact that his national team reached the final, but lost offensively to Argentina at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The Paris Saint-Germain player became the tournament’s top scorer. In seven matches he scored eight goals and made two assists.
After such a great performance at the world championship Didier Deschamps decided to appoint Mbappe as captain of Tricoloured. In a recent interview, the coach emphasized that he would call the star striker to the national team for the Euro 2024 qualifying matches, even if he did not get game practice in PSG.
Deschamps’ words are based on the scandal that erupted this summer. Parisians put pressure on Kylian to renew his contract with them or immediately move to another club. However, Mbappe has decided to honor his current contract to the end. He stated that he was ready to sit on the bench if the Red-Blue management so pleases.
The forward was suspended from participation in the training camp in Japan. However, when the French championship started, Mbappe still started to get playing time. He scored five goals in three rounds of Ligue 1. Kylian saved PSG from defeat in the 2nd round game with Toulouse FC (1:1), appearing on the pitch in the 51st minute. Then he helped to beat RC Lens (3:1) and Lyon (4:1). In both meetings he scored a double.
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Ireland News & Current Form:
The Irish national team cannot boast such successes as the French. For a long time, the team was on the periphery of the football world, despite the fact that it represents the British Isles. On the other hand, rugby is a popular rival to football in the country, where the national team is one of the leading teams of this sport.
Still, Ireland’s football has had its memorable times. They came in the 1990s, when The Boys in Green began to regularly reach the finals of World Cups for the first time, and at the first ever Mundial in Italy in 1990 they immediately achieved the highest achievement – reaching the quarter-finals, where they lost to the hosts.
In 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, Ireland suffered three defeats in the group stage and had to pack their bags, and four years later in France managed to reach the 1/8 finals, where they lost to the hosts.
Now the Irish can once again fly past the final tournament. So far in qualifying after three matches on their account only one victory, and that in a home match with Gibraltar. With this result, the team occupies the third place in the standings with a positive goal to concede ratio of 4:3. It is too early to panic and give up, but now every loss of points can be fatal.
Ireland lost to two potential rivals in the fight for the top 2 and a ticket to the European Championship. In March, Stephen Kenny’s team lost to the French (0:1), and in June they lost a crucial away game to Greece (1:2), dropping them to second place.
An injured Irish national team player whose absence will certainly be felt – Evan Ferguson
Ireland does not have the same star players as France. Due to severely limited resources, it failed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar. The Greens finished third in the group, eight points behind Portugal, who qualified for the tournament.
To be fair, Ireland has a very solid defense. They conceded only eight goals in eight World Cup qualifying matches and scored only 11 goals themselves. The reason for the low performance is that Stephen Kenny prefers to play with five defenders.
Kenny has been leading the Irish national team for not the first year. Thanks to his endeavors, it is consistently in the mid-table. In the recent Nations League, Ireland finished third in the group. It defeated Scotland ( 3:0) and Armenia (3:2) at home, and also drew with Ukraine (1:1).
A heavy loss for Ireland will be the absence of attacking leader Evan Ferguson through injury.
France form guide: W-W-W-W
Ireland form guide: L-L-W
France vs Ireland Head-To-Head Record:
| France | Draw | Ireland |
| 9 | 5 | 4 |
- June 26, 2016: France 2 – 1 Ireland (UEFA EURO);
- May 28, 2018: France 2 – 0 Ireland (International Friendly);
- March 27, 2023: Ireland 0 – 1 France (UEFA EURO).
France vs Ireland Predicted XI:
France’s possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Kounde, Saliba, Upamecano, T. Hernandez; Rabiot, Camavinga; Coman, Griezmann, Mbappe; Giroud.
Ireland’s possible starting lineup (5-3-2): Bazunu; O’Shea, Egan, Collins; Ebosele, Cullen, Molumby, Browne, Manning; Ogbene, Idah.
Statistical preview of the match France vs Ireland:
- France’s First XI average age is 26.8 yrs, while the team is in 2nd position in FIFA rating.
- Ireland’s First XI average age is 25.3 yrs and the team is just on the 53rd place in FIFA ranking.
- The French national team is a two-time World and European champion, Olympic champion, winner of the Nations League and two-time winner of the Confederations Cup
- Olivier Giroud is the team’s all-time top scorer with 54 goals.
- Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has played the most games for the team – 145, after the World Cup in Qatar he finished playing for the national team.
- France’s unbeaten streak in qualifying for the Euros totals 11 matches (10 wins, 1 draw).
- On their home field, the team has also not conceded during 11 meetings in qualifying for the European Championship (9 wins, 2 draws).
- The national team’s goal-scoring streak in Euro qualifying is 11 matches, and in 7 cases the French have scored at least twice.
- The best achievement of the Irish national team at the European Championships is reaching the 1/8 finals.
- Robbie Keane is the top scorer in the history of the team, with 68 goals. He also played the largest number of matches for the national team – 146.
- At least one of the teams has failed to score in 5 out of 7 previous matches of the Irish in qualification for the World Cup.
- No more than 2 goals have been scored in 12 of the last 14 meetings of the national team in qualifying for the Euros.
- Ireland are winless away from home in 5 matches in qualifying for the European Championship (3 draws, 2 defeats).
- The French team did not allow Ireland to score in six of the last eight face-to-face matches.
- Seven of the last head-to-head meetings saw a total of less than 2.5 goals scored.
- Ireland have suffered defeat in the last three head-to-head meetings.
What has been said before the match:
“We had a tough schedule, coming here after playing against the Netherlands. We were coming up against an opposition that was fresh and had the public behind them.”
Coach of the Blues Didier Deschamps after the first meeting with Ireland in March, which resulted in the French team winning:
“We might not have played as well, but Ireland defended well. We didn’t create so many chances, but we did what we had to do to win. It was an amazing save from Mike Maignan at the end, it was almost as important as the goal.”
“Kylian Mbappe and Theo Hernandez have a great relationship. Tonight, I think the opposition did a good job at defending them. They are such a strong combination on the wing, but each game is different so you can’t take too much for it.”
“As for Olivier Giroud, Ireland marked him really tightly. They played three center backs and he didn’t have as much space as he would like. It depends on the game as a whole, but he didn’t have much space.”
“It’s true that I think Ireland have this enthusiasm, this determination which is part of their football DNA. But that is not everything, they also have quality, they are capable of playing on the ground. Ireland are known for being direct and vertical in how they play. But from what I’ve seen in recent games they are capable of playing the ball along the ground as well.”
“We’re still obviously a bit disappointed about Greece, we’re not getting away from that, we were disappointed with that. It wasn’t his night, certainly, when Mikey Johnston came on, but he has terrific talent, I really appreciate his talent.“
Gaffer of Ireland Stephen Kenny about his team’s past results and hope for better results:
“He’s been terrific. Definitely he can start matches. I had it in my head that he was probably going to start, but it didn’t happen for him in Greece. He’s a Celtic FC player and it will be interesting if he goes back there or not, we’ll see how his career goes over the summer.”
“We obviously made life difficult for ourselves after Friday night. But Greece is a good team. They have to play Holland twice, we have to play Holland twice, and France in France.
“In my opinion, France will win the group, so we just have to have good September and October windows.
“The return game with Greece will be a different game, and obviously tough games against Holland and France. But we still have every chance and we just have to back ourselves in those windows.”
France vs Ireland Prediction:
This game promises to be much more action-packed than the meeting in Dublin this spring. First of all, the full stands of their compatriots should provide the French a different atmosphere that will definitely have a boosting effect. And secondly, Les Bleus can boast a much better squad and performances. Didier Deschamps’ charges have not lost a single point in four matches, moreover – they haven’t even conceded a single goal, while scoring 9! It hardly needs to be said how many both current and future stars are in the squad, but Olivier Giroud is particularly worth highlighting at the moment, and he will be a great support up front for the equally in-form Kylian Mbappe. The 36-year-old striker has scored four goals in three games for AC Milan, and thanks largely to his goal scoring prowess they share top spot in Serie A 23/24 with Inter. By the way, Olivier has recently become the all-time top scorer for the French national team, although there is little doubt that by the end of Kylian Mbappe’s career this title will belong to him.
Nevertheless, we are not expecting a lot of goals at Parc des Princes. Both sides possess extremely solid defensive lines although in the case of Boys in Green it is more like they are bound to play in a low-defensive block while the attacking game leaves a lot to be desired. The Blues are going to have an upper hand in this clash. The history of face-to-face meetings is entirely on the side of the home team’s victory as well.
Parimatch News staff prediction:
We say: France will win and the match total will be less than 3.5 – Yes.
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