France will be aiming to maintain their 100% start to the 2024 European Championship qualifiers as they travel to Gibraltar for a Group B clash on Friday. The hosts have lost both group fixtures and should be no match for France, who are expected to claim a comfortable victory.
Gibraltar have never played in a major tournament and are usually the whipping boys of most qualifying groups. These qualifiers appear to be following a similar pattern as they are currently bottom of Group B after losing their opening two matches.
The Gibraltarians began their campaign with a 3-0 loss to Greece before suffering a similar defeat to Netherlands in their second fixture. Both results mean they men have now conceded six goals in just two matches while scoring none.
Julio Ribas’ men have won two of their last three home matches, although both wins have come in friendlies with Liechtenstein and Andorra. Home advantage has never counted much for Gibraltar and those two results have been their only wins in the last 27 matches across all competitions.
Fresh from their run to the Qatar 2022 World Cup final, France are considered favourites to progress from Group B of the Euro qualifiers. They have lived up to the billing so far, winning their opening two matches.
France began their campaign with an impressive 4-0 victory over Netherlands before claiming a 1-0 win in Greece in their second fixture. While it was a hard-fought win against the Greeks, the result means Didier Deschamps men have now scored five goals in two qualifying matches, conceding none.
Stretching the focus further back, the World Cup final has been France’s only defeat in the last six matches. The goals have flowed freely during that time as they have scored at least two goals in five matches in that run.
How the bookies view it
France are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a win priced at 1/40 by Paddy Power. Hosts Gibraltar are considered outsiders at 110/1 by BetVictor while a draw is set at odds of 40/1 by Betfred.
Head to head
This will be the first ever meeting between Gibraltar and France.
Players to watch
Kylian Mbappe netted a brace in France’s opening fixture and could be the one to watch on Friday. The PSG forward could be backed to score anytime at 2/11 with bet365, who are also offering odds of 2/1 for the first goal.
France are yet to concede a goal in these qualifiers and will be keen to maintain their solid defensive run. Ibrahima Konate and Jules Kounde could be set to feature at the back and could lead the French to a win to nil at 1/7 by William Hill.
Anything else catch the eye?
France are likely to make a fast start on Friday and could be backed to score within the first 10 minutes at 13/8 by bet365. With a dominant display also expected from the French, a -2 first half handicap could also be considered at 11/8 with bet365.
With France looking to put the game to bed early, the first half can be tipped to produce the most goals at 7/5 with William Hill.
This Euro 2024 match between Gibraltar and France will be played on Jun 16, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Gibraltar vs France prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
