FIGHTING it out for a place in the final of the men’s Olympic football games, France and Egypt face off at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon Monday night.
Les Bleus were the bookmakers’ favourites ahead of the tournament and it looks like they are going to take some stopping in their pursuit of gold.
Thierry Henry’s team won all three of their group games before defeating Argentina 1-0 in an ill-tempered quarter-final clash on Friday night.
Standing before France and a place in the final in Paris later on this week against either Morocco or Spain is surprise package Egypt.
The Pharaohs upset the apple cart in Group C by defeating Spain en-route to topping the section.
Rogerio Micale's men have since reached the final four thanks to a dramatic penalty shootout win over Paraguay on Friday afternoon.
How the bookies view it: Au revoir Egypt
France are overwhelming 4/11 favourites on Bet 365 to get the job done inside 90 minutes on Monday night.
As expected, Egypt are big outsiders at 8/1 on Bet 366 while the draw is also deemed unlikely at 15/2 with the same firm.
Head to head: French seeking another five star performance
Monday night’s semi-final clash in Lyon will represent the first meeting between the pair since a friendly fixture way back in 2003. France ran out 5-0 winners on that occasion and the same scoreline here can be backed at a whopping 35/1 on Betfair.
Players to watch: Mateta to make his mark?
Jean-Philippe Mateta’s goal proved decisive in France’s 1-0 quarter-final win over Argentina. The Crystal Palace striker is an even-money (1/1) shot on Bet 365 to notch against Egypt on Monday night.
Ibrahim Adel has scored three goals across his last two appearances for his country at the Olympics, making him an eye-catching option at 9/2 for an anytime strike during this semi-final showdown.
Predicted line-ups
Given that France have been pretty much faultless on route to the semi-final stage, manager Thierry Henry is expected to name an unchanged starting XI against Egypt.
Egypt boss Rogerio Micale is also expected to field a similar lineup to the one which squeezed past Paraguay last time out.
France: Restes; Sildillia, Bade, Lukeba, Truffert; Akliouche, Kone, Chotard; Olise; Lacazette, Mateta
Egypt: Alaa; Fayed, Abdelmeguid, Eid, El-Debes; Elneny; Shehata, Kouka; Zizo, Faisal, Adel
Anything else catch the eye?
With France too short to support at 4/11 quotes, backing Les Bleus to win alongside under four match goals looks a tempting alternative at 11/10 on Bet 365.
This would have been the right wager in each of the host nations' four victories at this summer’s showpeice so far.
It’s also worth noting that all four of the Egyptians' outings thus far have featured three match goals or fewer.
With that in mind, backing France to land another low-key success looks the way to go at 11/10 (Bet 365).
This Olympics match between France and Egypt will be played on Aug 5, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best France vs Egypt prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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