Norway U21 vs France U21
, KO: 19:45 Jun 25, 2023, Stadionul Dr Constantin Radulescu
France will be looking to build on their opening day win at the European U21 Championships as they face Norway in their second Group D fixture. The Norwegians are attempting to bounce back from defeat in their opening fixture but are likely to find things difficult against a truly talented French team.
Norway began their campaign at the European U21 Championships on a disappointing note as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Switzerland. They failed to build on an early opener from Emil Ceïde and were breached twice by the Swiss side.
Although they had a fairly smooth qualification process, the Norwegians were not particularly fancied coming into this competition. Leif Smerud’s men are now winless in their last five matches, suffering three defeats in that run.
They may have found the net in their opening fixture but one of the problems for Norway is a lack of cutting edge in attack. They have failed to score in three of their last five matches while the remaining two fixtures have only seen one goal each.
France were victorious in their opening Group D fixture in the European U21 Championships as they picked up a 2-1 win over Italy. Both teams went into the break level after Arnaud Kalimuendo’s early opener was cancelled out by the Italians but Bradley Barcola netted the winner midway through the second half.
The French are arguably the most talented team in this year’s competition as they boast players who have already featured at senior level. They are considered one of the favourites to go all the way and looked the part in their opening day victory over Italy.
France have a quality squad but one criticism that can be placed on the team is that they are not particularly convincing at the back. Sylvain Ripoll’s men have kept just one clean sheet in their last 10 matches across all competitions.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have installed France as overwhelming favourites with a win priced at 1/2 by bet365. BetVictor is offering 6/1 for an unlikely Norway win while a draw is set at odds of 15/4 by Unibet.
Head to head
Norway and France have one win each from three previous matches. The most recent meeting between both teams was a friendly in 2022 which ended in a 2-2 draw.
Players to watch
While Norway have not been not particularly prolific in attack, they will be hoping to take advantage of France’s vulnerable backline. Emil Ceïde scored their goal in the opening fixture and could be worth keeping an eye on to find the net again at 11/2 with William Hill.
Bradley Barcola and Arnaud Kalimuendo started in attack and got the goals in the win over Italy. Both men could be worth keeping an eye on for France, with a goal for Kalimuendo priced at 7/4 by William Hill, who is also offering odds of 11/5 on Barcola in the same market.
Anything else catch the eye?
France have plenty of quality in attack but having failed to keep in clean sheet in nine of their last 10 matches, both teams could be backed to score at 5/6 by Unibet. Both teams also saw over 2.5 in their opening fixtures and a similar outcome is valued at 6/10 by Paddy Power, who is offering odds of 7/4 for over 3.5 goals.
The French scored in both halves in their opening fixture and a repeat is priced at 5/4 by bet365. Given France’s superior attacking quality, a -1 handicap could also be considered at 13/10 with Betfred.
This match between Norway U21 and France U21 will be played on Jun 25, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Norway U21 vs France U21 prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
