Denmark vs France

Denmark welcome France for this UEFA Nations League League A round 6 clash at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen early Monday morning Beijing time. A balanced match is on the cards here and a high-scoring match is not probable - as is the case almost always when two world-class teams go head-to-head. Even so, I believe this to be a match of good entertainment value - one the two top matches today in addition to Netherlands – Belgium. The is no question about the fact the by pure class France are the better team here – we must remember that they are the reigning World champions. However, in the EURO 2022 they were far from their best level and some of their players looked pretty lazy in several matches, and they were eventually ousted by Switzerland! Denmark on the other played awesome football and got close to making it to the final! There have been rumors in the media since this the EURO 2020 about France’s team spirit being far from optimal. With Denmark the situation is the opposite – the team really got together after Christian Eriksen’s horrible heart attack in EURO 2020 against Finland at this very stadium. There are many stars with big egos in the French team. Furthermore, I am not quite sure if France – especially their best players are 100% motivated playing in National League, a pretty new competition organized by UEFA. Indeed, they have won just one of their latest five matches in this competition - and all competitions as well.

Three days ago, France faced Austria at home and took a 2-0 win in pretty low-level match. Yes, they were the better team but did not really excite me on the pitch. They did defend well though and did not allow Austria, who played below their normal level, any shots on goal. However, they were also priced around 1.45 to win on the betting market. Before this they lost to Croatia at home – again priced around 1.45 to win. They did create chances but lacked offensive creativity and once again looked pretty lazy! Croatia are, of course, a good team but with this kind of performance they will probably not win in Copenhagen! I cannot agree with the bookies about France being the favorites here – I see this as a coin toss (50-50%) this means that siding with Denmark with the +1 option with 1x2 handicap – a draw would be enough for us to win is very smart idea. The Danes love their team, and the atmosphere will surely be awesome at Parken Stadium! Let’s also remember that Denmark also beat France early in the summer at Stade de France as massive underdogs! Denmark currently occupy the second place in the standings with nine points one point behind Croatia and could still win the group – extra motivation for them! France, on the other hand, have just five points to their account. The Danes lost to Croatia three days ago away from home after a balanced match. They played fine and I would say a draw would have been justified result. Before this they comfortably defeated Austria at home.