England v France: French threat to Hodgson’s unbeaten record
Published:Roy Hodgson’s England head into the first competitive match of his stewardship at 11/5 to beat a revitalised France.
The ex-Fulham boss has yet to lose whilst at the Three Lions helm but this match in Donetsk will see his unbeaten record put to the test.
Laurent Blanc’s youthful French outfit are 7/5 to record a win in their opening game.
Les Bleus enter the tournament with a 19 match undefeated record that stretches back to September 2010.
That run has contained six draws, but with neither side sharing the spoils in their last four games it looks wise to avoid backing this one to end all-square at 21/10.
Karim Benzema enjoyed a fruitful season with Real Madrid, scoring 31 goals for the La Liga champions. The striker also bagged a brace last time out against Estonia and is unsurprisingly 6/1 favourite to net first.
England’s main goal threat is harder to tie down, with indecision over who will lead the line. It may then be more sensible to opt for 9/1 shot Ashley Young to break the deadlock.
The Man United man is set to play behind a frontman and could be a key player for Hodgson’s side.
The last three times these two nations have clashed it has been the French side that have run out the victors by one goal, which may well be worth some attention here at 10/3.
The two teams last met at a major tournament at Euro 2004, when France came from one down to beat England 2-1.
Punters believing a repeat could be on the cards can get 35/1 on England to be leading after 45 minutes but the French to take the three points come the final whistle.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
