France and the Ivory Coast will look to continue their preparations for the World Cup as they meet at the Stade de la Beaujoire on Thursday night in a friendly.
As expected, France cruised to top spot in their World Cup qualifying group, picking up 16 points from a possible 18 (W5-D1-L0) and finishing six points clear of their nearest challengers, Ukraine.
Since then, Didier Deschamps’ men have been in friendly action twice at the end of March, defeating South American duo Brazil and Colombia.
The Ivory Coast ended their 12-year hiatus from the World Cup finals and qualified for their fourth overall, as they finished a point clear of Gambia in their qualification group.
Emerse Fae’s men were then subsequently beaten in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations by Egypt at the turn of the year, but they followed that up by defeating both South Korea and Scotland in friendlies at the end of March.
How the bookies view it: France favourites
As expected, France are favourites to win at the Beaujoire on Thursday night, with bet365 pricing a home success at just 1/3.
The Ivory Coast are 8/1 underdogs, whilst the draw is 15/4.
Head to head: Three unbeaten for France
France are unbeaten in all three of their meetings with the Ivory Coast, winning two of them (W2-D1-L0), including a late 2-1 success in their most recent encounter in Marseille in 2022.
Players to watch: More Mbappe magic?
Kylian Mbappe was France’s leading scorer in World Cup qualifying, scoring on five occasions, including in both matches against nearest challengers Ukraine.
The Real Madrid frontman also scored the opener in their friendly success over Brazil at the end of March, and is a backable 20/23 at BetVictor to score in Nantes on Thursday night.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
France will be expected to be without Arsenal defender William Saliba on Thursday night due to injury, whilst Clement Akpa and Evan Ndicka are likely to be unavailable for the visitors.
France: Maignan, Kounde, Upamecano, Konate, Hernandez, Tchouameni, Rabiot, Zaire-Emery, Olise, Dembele, Mbappe
Ivory Coast: Lafont, Singo, Diomande, Kossounou, Konan, Sangare, Kessie, Oulai, Pepe, Toure, Wahi
Anything else catch the eye?
France are rightly favourites for this clash given the abundance of talent at their disposal, but the Ivory Coast should give them a decent workout in Nantes on Thursday night.
Four of Les Blues’ five wins in World Cup qualifying featured more than three goals – as well as both friendly successes at the end of March – and a repeat pays an appealing 10/11 at bet365.
What’s more, four of the Elephants’ last five matches have produced three or more goals, which only adds to the appeal that we’ll see goals at the Beaujoire.
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