Ukraine vs France prediction: EUROPE: World Championship – Qualification betting tips on match 2025-09-04 18:45.
[p]Group D in UEFA’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (WCQ) cycle looks to be one of the toughest groups on paper, making this opening bout between big-hitters Ukraine and France one to watch.[/p]
[p]Match News and Current Form[/p]
[p]Ukraine began their WCQ bid ranked 26th in the world according to FIFA, so it comes as somewhat of a surprise that they have appeared at the World Cup finals just once (2006) as an independent nation. They can consider themselves unlucky knowing that five of their six failed WCQ attempts were due to losses in play-offs, so the expansion of the 2026 edition from 13 European nations to 16 could be just what they need to make their long-awaited return to the world stage. Their current form indicates they may not need the aided grace, since Serhiy Rebrov’s men have lost just two of their last eight encounters (W4, D2).[/p]
[p]They come up against World Cup royalty in France, a nation who have qualified for the last seven World Cups and made the final on four occasions. Les Bleus’ aim will be to wrap up top spot in Group D as fast as possible and without fuss, something they appear more than capable of achieving having lost just one of their last 21 WCQ group stage matches (W14, D6). But Didier Deschamps’ side have displayed some vulnerability this year, winning two and losing two of their matches in 2025 albeit all against current top-ten nations.[/p]
[p]Head-to-Head History[/p]
[p]One of Ukraine’s WCQ play-off heartbreaks was when France overcame a 2-0 first-leg deficit to win 3-2 on aggregate and qualify for the 2014 World Cup, with that first-leg win being Ukraine’s lone victory over France in 12 attempts (D5, L6). [/p]
[p]Hot Stats and Streaks[/p]
[p]Eight of Ukraine’s last ten matches saw both teams score.[/p]
[p]There were over 2.5 goals in each of Ukraine’s last seven losses.[/p]
[p]The half-time result has been replicated come full-time in five of France’s last six matches.[/p]
[p]The first half was higher scoring than the second in four of France’s last six away matches.[/p]
[p]Key Players to Watch and Missing Players[/p]
[p]Ukraine’s Artem Dovbyk usually grows into the game slowly, with nine of his 11 international goals coming after half-time. He’ll be attempting to steal the limelight from Kylian Mbappé, whose last three goals for Les Bleus have come on foreign soil.[/p]
[p]France will have to deal with the late withdrawals of William Saliba and Rayan Cherki due to injury, while Ukraine will be without the services of Maksym Talovierov and Mykola Mykhaylenko among others.[/p]
[p]For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.[/p]
[p]Betting Analysis[/p]
[p]France are understandably overwhelming favourites, and considering five of their last six wins have come by 2+ goals, backing France to win by 2+ goals offers additional value.[/p]
[p][i]Author: Peter Stavrinou[/i][/p]