France vs Gibraltar prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-11-17 19:45.
France enter this encounter at Allianz Riviera in Nice with a flawless record during European Championship Qualification (ECQ), securing maximum points from six games in Group B and running up a combined scoreline of 13-1 in the process. Despite already securing a spot in the finals in Germany next year with matches to spare, that shouldnât raise any doubts over a lack of motivation, with France having already achieved perfect winning ECQ cycles for Euro 1992 and 2004!
As emphasized by manager Didier Deschamps to his players after the 2-1 victory against the Netherlands, "being in the lead is not enough," and they need one more win to ensure that theyâll be one of the six seeded teams for Euro 2024. This matchup against Gibraltar should help them achieve that, as theyâll look to enhance their record to eight wins âto-nilâ in 12 ECQ home matches since 2010 (W10, D2).
In complete contrast to their hosts, Gibraltar have already been eliminated from this qualifying cycle after another drab campaign (L6 â GF0 GA21), which isnât a huge surprise for the nation who sit 198th out of 207 sides in the FIFA men's rankings. Since becoming a UEFA member in 2013, Los Llanis have lost all 24 of their ECQ matches, conceding 4.5 goals on average per game!
Imagining the micro-state overcoming astronomical odds for victory seems unlikely, but they will be keen to score, especially considering Gibraltar have never finished an ECQ cycle without finding the net. Adding to the embarrassment for Julio Ribas' side is the fact that other minnows, like San Marino and Liechtenstein, have scored in this qualifying campaign, but the lack of goals in their previous five international away games (L5) does not inspire optimism.
Key battle: If Waren ZaĂŻre-Emery (17 years and 8 months) were to score on his debut, he would become the youngest goalscorer for France, surpassing Eduardo Camavinga (17 years and 11 months). He will have to get past goalkeeper Dayle Coleing, the only Gibraltar player whose average Flashscore rating exceeds 7.0 this ECQ campaign (7.3).
Hot stat: Only three of the 11 away goals Gibraltar have conceded during this ECQ cycle came before half-time.