World Cup Group D

It’s been feast or famine for France, with Les Bleus having either reached the semi-finals or been eliminated at the group stage in 11 of their last 13 tournaments.

In Didier Deschamps, they have the longest serving manager at the World Cup who has won the tournament both as a player in 1998 and a manager in 2018. But are we starting to see cracks in the title winning team from four years ago?

 

“France have gone away from the blueprint that took them to glory in 2018,” said Raj Chohan. “Deschamps was using a 4-2-3-1 system but now he's gone to three at the back, which has looked a bit dodgy in the most recent Nations League campaign. There's no consistency in the back line so that's a big worry.”

A stellar Betting Show panel featuring Steven McInerney and Mark O’Haire alongside host Ali Maxwell and Chohan agreed that Denmark pose a very real threat to France at the top of Group D.

O’Haire said: “There might not be a huge amount of stars in the Denmark squad but they're absolutely cohesive and they know exactly what they're doing. They've got a head coach in Kasper Hjulmand who is incredibly adaptable, while they've turned over France home and away this year so they know how to beat the big guns. 

“Centre forward is always the doubt with Denmark but I think they had 18 different goalscorers in qualifying which is remarkable really. As an outright dark horse you're probably getting about 33/1, which is a bit short. Smart people got on them at 100/1 12 months ago! 

“Instead, I'm looking at them at 3/1 to win the group. The World Cup winning midfield for France has been ripped up - Kante and Pogba are big shoes to fill. If you win the group, you avoid Argentina in the last 16 so the match between the top two is huge.

"Put a line in the group beneath the two as Tunisia and Australia have to play way above themselves to have any chance of qualifying.”