France have a chance to put their disappointing European Championship campaign behind them when they host Bosnia & Herzegovina in a 2022 World Cup qualifier at Stade de la Meinau. The French will be keen to make a statement and with Bosnia still winless in the competition, a comfortable home win looks to be on the cards.
France were widely tipped as favourites for this year’s European Championship having won the World Cup in 2018 and given the quality in their squad. However, their campaign imploded with reports of dressing room spats and family disputes leading them to a disappointing round of 16 exit.
Manager Didier Deschamps has a chance to quickly set things right with a solid performance against Bosnia & Herzegovina on Wednesday. Kylian Mbappe, who was at the heart of some of the controversy at the Euros has been recalled to the team but Olivier Giroud misses out.
France are unbeaten in the qualifiers with two wins and a draw but crucially have looked solid in defence with clean sheets in their last two matches. They have also kept clean sheets in their last two matches at home.
Bosnia & Herzegovina have found things difficult in recent weeks with a number of key players struggling to find their best form. They are still heavily reliant on captain Edin Dzeko, who turned 35 in March.
Ivaylo Petev's men have been on a lengthy winless run with their last victory coming in November 2019. The Bosnians are also still seeking their first win in the qualifiers and were beaten 1-0 at home by France in their previous fixture.
Goals have been hard to come by for Bosnia & Herzegovina having failed to find the net in their last four matches across all competitions. That poor run has coincided with a dry spell for Edin Dzeko, who is without a goal for the national team in his last six appearances.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have France as overwhelming favourites with a home win priced at 23/100 by novibet. An unlikely victory for Bosnia & Herzegovina is valued at a massive 18/1 by betfair while a draw is set at odds of 6/1 by bet365.
Head to head
France have never lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina with three wins and two draws from five previous matches. The French claimed a 1-0 victory in the first meeting in the qualifiers with Antoine Griezmann getting the goal.
Players to watch
France have plenty of quality in attack with Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema, who was the team’s top scorer at the Euros with four goals. Having produced over 1.5 goals in their last two home matches, the French could be tipped for a repeat at 2/5 with bet365.
The French have also impressed defensively, keeping clean sheets in their last two matches in the qualifiers, including a shutout against Bosnia & Herzegovina. With Raphael Varane and Presnel Kimpembe likely to partner in central defence, they will be targeting another clean sheet at 8/15 with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given the quality in attack and defence for France, they could be backed as the only team to score at 8/13 with bet365. They are also likely to earn a win to nil at 8/11 with BetVictor.
A -1 handicap for France could be on the cards at 7/10 with Sporting Index while they could also be tipped to win both halves at 7/4 with Red Zone.
This World Cup match between France and Bosnia & Herzegovina will be played on Sep 1, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best France vs Bosnia & Herzegovina prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
