France vs Denmark: Tough test in prospect for injury-ravaged holders
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World Cup 2022: France vs Denmark odds, preview and tips
Injury-hit France are 6/1 second favourites to retain the World Cup after fighting back from a goal down to beat a limited Australia team 4-1 in their opening Group D game.
The France winning odds for a victory on Saturday are 5/6 but they have struggled against Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark in the last few months, so it promises to be an interesting game.
Kasper Hjulmand’s side started with a disappointing goalless draw against Tunisia so the pressure is on to get a result as we look at some of the main talking points and odds in our France vs Denmark betting tips.
France vs Denmark form
Les Bleus went into the World Cup without five key players, with Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante, Presnel Kimpembe and Christoper Nkunku all ruled out through injury and matters were made worse when left-back Lucas Hernandez’s campaign ended after nine minutes in the build-up to the Socceroos’ opener.
Didier Deschamps’ side were unbeaten in qualifying but drew twice with Ukraine and once with Bosnia-Herzegovina, and later won just one of their six Nations League games which included two defeats by Denmark, although they just avoided relegation to the second tier.
Olivier Giroud proved to be an able deputy for Benzema with two goals, one of which was provided by man-of-the-match Kylian Mbappe, who scored the third goal.
As impressive as the French were, they will find it much more difficult to break down an organised Danish side and a draw at 12/5 in the World Cup odds, as it was in the group stage in Russia four years ago, is one of our France vs Denmark betting tips.
Hjulmand admitted the “nervous” Danes played “too slowly” against the north Africans and that the result has now “complicated” matters, although with Australia to come they still have the knockout stage in their sights.
The Danes will be encouraged by France conceding the first goal and Jackson Irvine also hit the post for Australia, so the Scandinavians to score the opener looks an interesting option at 9/5, while it’s 14/5 they do so before the break.
France vs Denmark head to head
Andreas Cornelius scored twice as Denmark fought back from a goal down to beat France 2-1 in Paris in June and first-half goals from Kasper Dolberg and Andreas Skov Olsen sealed a 2-0 win in the return in Copenhagen just two months ago.
The Danes are 18/5 to win for a third successive time or 21/5 for a victory and under 3.5 match goals, while the French are 13/10 to win in that manner.
These teams met at the 2018 World Cup when they shared a predictably drab goalless draw to ensure both countries qualified for the knockout stage.
Seven of the last nine encounters between these countries have involved at least one team failing to score and that option is available at 4/5, while the Danes are 19/20 to win or draw in the World Cup betting bearing in mind they are unbeaten in their last three matches against Les Bleus.
France vs Denmark team news
Lucas Hernandez was replaced by his younger brother Theo in the early stages of the Australia game and the latter is expected to start at left-back, while back-in-favour Adrien Rabiot is likely to be at the heart of France’s midfield after scoring the opener and providing an assist for Giroud.
Deschamps could stick with a similar side and make changes for the Tunisia game if they beat Denmark, who are set to be without Thomas Delaney following a knee injury which forced him off just before the break against Tunisia, so Mikkel Damsgaard is in line to start.
Cornelius somehow managed to head a low cross against the post when he came on as a second-half sub, but his double against France in the Nations League means he is in with a chance of starting against the world champions.
France vs Denmark goalscorer odds
There are plenty of options in the goalscorer market which is headed by Mbappe at 10/3 to get the ball rolling or 7/5 to find the net.
However, against the Aussies he played on the left flank where he ran Hearts defender Nathaniel Atkinson ragged and his role seemed to be to supply crosses for Giroud, who catches the eye at 4/1 and 7/4 in the two markets, while he is 10/1 to score at least twice.
"𝘞𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵"@AntoGriezmann looks back on les Bleus' 4-1 victory over Australia whilst thinking about injured teammate Lucas Hernandez #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/kbqcwTSDA9
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) November 23, 2022
Rabiot netted his third goal in 30 international appearances on Tuesday and is 12/1 to break the deadlock or 11/2 to get on the scoresheet once more.
Antoine Griezmann is always a threat and is 11/2 and 23/10, with Ousmane Dembele 13/2 and 13/5.
For Denmark, Cornelius stands out at 15/2 to bag the opener or 16/5 to find the net, the same odds as Dolberg, with Christian Eriksen 10/1 and 4/1 in our France vs Denmark betting tips. Skov Olsen can be backed at 17/2 and 7/2.
Match Info
Where: Stadium 974, Doha
When: 16:00, Saturday 26th November
How to watch: ITV
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
