France are one win away from qualifying for the Euro 2020 tournament proper. Didier Deschamps’ reigning World Cup winners will host Moldova on Thursday night at the Parc des Prince with the chance to do a double over the Moldovans.
Qualification is France’s to lose as Iceland are four points behind them in third place in Group H. The French are fighting with Turkey for first place in the group and could usurp the Turks this week. Turkey will clash with Iceland as they looked to avenge an earlier Euro 2020 qualifying loss.
Deschamps is dealing with several injuries heading into Friday night’s match. Goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris is out of action until next summer and will most likely miss the Euro 2020 tournament finals. Steve Mandanda stepped in for Lloris during the last international break.
Defenders Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Hernandez, and Ferland Mendy are all ruled out through injury. Midfielder Paul Pogba is also ruled out of action while Manchester United teammate Anthony Martial wasn’t called in.
Les Espoirs sont à l’entraînement et préparent les 2 derniers matchs de l’année !France🆚Géorgie à Nancy (vendredi 15/11 à 21h00)Suisse🆚France (mardi 19/11 à 19h00) pic.twitter.com/QTbssJNRvU— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) November 12, 2019
Les Espoirs sont à l’entraînement et préparent les 2 derniers matchs de l’année !France🆚Géorgie à Nancy (vendredi 15/11 à 21h00)Suisse🆚France (mardi 19/11 à 19h00) pic.twitter.com/QTbssJNRvU
France have enough quality without the injured players although going deep into the Euro 2020 tournament finals may not be possible with so many missing players.
Moldova are dead last in Group H with a mere three points from 24 possible. Manager Engin Firat has watched his team lose seven out of eight matches. Moldova have only scored twice in qualifying while conceding a group leading 22 strikes.
France defeated Moldova in their previous Euro 2020 Group H match, 4-1. The French won the fixture with ease as Antoine Griezmann, Raphael Varane, Olivier Giroud, and Kylian Mbappe all found the back of the net.
Moldova did pull a goal back in the 89th minute through Vladimir Ambrose. However, the match was beyond them at that point.
France striker Giroud is in fine form at the international level despite playing just six matches for Chelsea in all competitions. Giroud leads Group H in goals with five.
Mbappe and Kingsley Coman have scored three goals apiece in Euro 2020 qualifying. With the form that the three forwards are in, they are likely to get on the score sheet against Moldova.
The French average 2.6 goals per game and will once again find the back of the net against a poor defence. Moldova concede 2.75 goals per match.
France have kept four clean sheets out of eight in Euro 2020 Group H qualifying. The French will once again win to nil in Group H qualifying. Deschamps team will keep their fifth clean sheet of qualifying while scoring over 2.5 goals.