France v Poland: Classy holders have too much firepower for poor Poles
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World Cup 2022: France v Poland betting tips and odds
Defending champions France are 1/4 favourites in the World Cup odds to beat Poland inside 90 minutes and reach the quarter-finals where they could face England.
Les Bleus coach Didier Deschamps rested nine players for Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat by Tunisia but France still topped the Group D table with six points from 4-1 and 2-1 wins against Australia and Denmark, while the Poles scraped through on goal difference despite a 2-0 defeat by Argentina.
Deschamps will recall the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Ousman Demble and Olivier Giroud for Sunday’s match so let’s look at the odds and talking points in our France v Poland betting tips.
Rested holders look too hot for limited Poles
France went into the tournament without a handful of key players like Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante, and their injury woes continued when left-back Lucas Hernandez was ruled out for the rest of the tournament with a torn ACL sustained in the build-up to Australia’s opening goal in the first 10 minutes.
That was clearly in Deschamps’ mind when he left out most of his star players against the Africans, who also had an effort ruled out for offside – as did Griezmann in stoppage time.
7️⃣0️⃣ 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 for France 💪@AntoGriezmann has played in 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 game for Les Bleus since 31 August 2017… 🤯
An incredible record previously held by Patrick Vieira, with 44 in a row 🇫🇷#FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/7XCLHHaGkt
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) November 30, 2022
Deschamps said: “A couple of them have been able to rest up, they will have fresh legs. We were coming out of two high-intensity games. We will play four games in 12 days and we needed a breath of fresh air. I wasn’t underestimating the opponent, I wasn’t not taking the game seriously, I was thinking about the game that is waiting for us on Sunday.”
Poland showed absolutely no ambition against Argentina and at one point were only going through at the expense of Mexico on fair play points, so it was a nail-biting climax until Saudi Arabia pulled one back against El Tri to assure the Poles a place in the knockout stage for the first time in 36 years.
Les Bleus to keep it clean
With the World Cup holders rested, we expect them to beat a limited Poland team without conceding despite failing to keep a clean sheet in all three group games.
France are just 3/4 to nil, but at bigger World Cup betting odds, we prefer the 13/8 on Mbappe to outscore the opposition.
The PSG forward scored three goals in his first two games, but only got 27 minutes to make an impact against a resolute Tunisia defence which parked the bus.
Wojciech Szczęsny made a little bet with Leo Messi on whether the penalty kick would be given or not. 🤫 💸#POLARG #FIFAWorldCuppic.twitter.com/KvAneT9RNl
— PSN Futbol (@PSN_Futbol) December 1, 2022
Mbappe is 5/2 to break the deadlock and just 5/6 to get on the scoresheet, but his role on the left means he supplied plenty of crosses in his first couple of games, setting up France’s fourth goal for Olivier Giroud in the 4-1 comeback win against Australia.
The Golden Boot favourite looks a decent prospect to provide an assist at 27/10, while we would not be surprised if he scored at least twice at 4/1 as he did in the 2-1 victory over Denmark.
On the opposite side, Robert Lewandowski was feeding on scraps against Argentina as Poland failed to produce a shot on target and they managed just two against Mexico, who would have been the neutral’s pick to be playing in the last 16.
Les Bleus, 5/1 third favourites to lift the World Cup trophy for a third time, are 11/8 to win either half, score at least twice and keep a clean sheet as a #GetAPrice option as the last of our France v Poland betting tips.
Match Info
Where: Al Thumama Stadium, Doha
When: 15:00, Sunday, 4th December
How to watch: BBC 1
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
