EURO 2024: FRANCE VS POLAND: PREVIEW, PREDICTION & BETTING TIPS

To ensure a top of the group finish France need a win, and we expect them to achieve that against a Poland side who have already been eliminated. Kylian Mbappe will likely return to the starting lineup, but Marcus Thuram could be a name to look out for in attack. The forward has started in both games so far and is coming off the back of a strong season in which he scored 13 goal for Inter Milan.Poland have scored in both games so far, but face a tough test in a French defence who has yet to concede in the tournament. Robert Lewandowski will provide a huge boost to the frontline, but the French back four led by William Saliba will hope to deal with them comfortably – France 2-0 Poland.

France take on Poland in the final game of Group D with plenty to play for. Whilst Poland became the first team to be eliminated from the competition, France still need a result to ensure a top two finish.

Date: 25/06/24

Kick-off time: 13:00 EST

Venue: Signal Iduna Park

After a goalless draw against Netherlands on matchday two, France still have work to do to secure their place in the knockout stages as group winners. A draw will see them progress in the top two, though they will have to win in order to guarantee first place. Poland, in contrast, have seen their Euros journey come to an end, having lost both of their games so far. Firstly against Netherlands, in which they fell to a 2-1 defeat after taking the lead, and then to Austria, who beat them 3-1 to leave them rooted to the bottom of the group. A win against France would not be enough for them to move into third, as they would not have the tiebreaker over either Austria or Netherlands.Three of France’s last six games has seen them fail to score, though they should be confident in finding the back of the net against a Poland defence who have kept just one clean sheet in their last six games.

They will hope to bring Kylian Mbappe back into the lineup after he was only fit enough for the bench against Netherlands. In seven games without Mbappe over the last two seasons, France have failed to win any of them, so his return will be crucial. He is supported in attack by the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann, who have both yet to score in the competition, but will hope to get off the mark in this game.Poland’s biggest threat is none other than Robert Lewandowski, who made his return to the side off the bench in their last game after missing the first through injury.

This season, Lewandowksi has scored 19 goals in 35 league matches, and will be looking to add to his four strikes in the Euros from past tournaments. His fellow forwards Adam Buksa and Krzysztof Piatek also had strong campaigns, scoring 16 and 17 times respectively, and the pair have scored one each in his absence.After their first participation in 2008, this will be Poland’s fifth consecutive appearance at the European Championships. They have made it to the knockouts just once before, after they progressed to the quarter-finals in 2016. They were eliminated by eventual champions Portugal on penalties. France have been far more successful, not making the Round of 16 just twice in their 10 appearances.

They will be aiming to add to their two titles so far. This will be the 18th meeting between these two sides in history. France have gotten the better of their opponents nine times, whilst Poland have won just three. They have faced off only four times since 2000, but were drawn into the same group at the 2022 World Cup. In this game, France won 3-1, with Olivier Giroud and Mbappe, who scored a brace, both on the scoresheet before Lewandowski netted a very late consolation. Poland have a dreadful record against France in the most recent games, as they are currently in the midst of an eight game winless streak which dates back to 1982.

France vs Poland will be available to watch on FOX.

France:

France’s main injury concern is of star man Kylian Mbappe, who suffered a broken nose in their opening group stage game against Austria. He started the game against Netherlands on the bench and did not make it onto the pitch despite his side needing a goal. With France still needing a result in the final game, expect him to make a return to the starting lineup.

Poland:

Robert Lewandowski was only fit enough to start on the bench and played half an hour in the second game against Austria after missing out on the group opener. However, he should be fit enough to play from the start in the final game.

France

In their last five games, France have won three and drawn two. France have been in solid form, and began their tournament with a narrow 1-0 victory over Austria. Their opponents held their own and found themselves unlucky not to have gone a goal ahead after missing a golden opportunity. They lived to rue that missed chance as France then went up the other end and scored the only goal of the game thanks to a Maximilian Wober own goal, set up by Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe missed a one-on-one in the second half to put the game to bed, before breaking his nose, which meant he missed the second game against Netherlands. In his absence, France were unable to secure their place in the knockouts, drawing 0-0. Both sides had chances, but neither could find the breakthrough.

The final game in preparation for the Euros ended in a goalless draw with Canada. They fielded a very strong lineup, but were unable to make the breakthrough despite 13 shot attempts. Canada did not offer a threat, failing to have a shot on target. This followed two consecutive victories, firstly against Chile as they won 3-2. They suffered an early setback as Marcelino Nunez put Chile in front six minutes in. Youssouf Fofana found an equaliser, before Randal Kolo Muani turned it around. Olivier Giroud added a third, though Dario Osorio pulled another back for the visitors. However, they were unable to complete a comeback.Luxembourg were their next opponents, and France comfortably dispatched of them 3-0. The first goal did not come until late in the first half, as Kolo Muani found the back of the net. They doubled their lead with 20 minutes to go through Jonathan Clauss, before Mbappe added a third in the closing stages.

Poland

In their last five games, Poland have won two, lost two and drawn one. They had been in decent form heading into the tournament, but were on the end of a 2-1 defeat to Netherlands in their opening game. They were missing main man Robert Lewandowski, but took the lead after 16 minutes thanks to Adam Buksa. However, they were not ahead for long as Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo found the equaliser. The game looked to be heading for a draw, but the Dutch were rewarded for their dominance with a late Wout Weghorst winner.Lewandowski returned as a substitute in the next game, but his presence was not enough as they fell to a 3-1 defeat. They were a goal down early, as Gernot Trauner opened the scoring in the ninth minute. Poland were able to get back on level terms before half-time through Krzysztof Piatek, but were unable to turn it around with Christoph Baumgartner and Marko Arnatouvic finding the net.

They won two games in a row in preparation for the Euros, the first being a 3-1 victory against Ukraine. They raced into a 3-0 lead after half an hour with goals from Sebastian Walukiewicz, Piotr Zielinski and Taras Romanczuk. Artem Dovbyk pulled one back for the Ukrainians before half-time, but this was as close as they got. Their win against Turkey was closer, as they were 2-1 victors. Turkey had plenty of opportunities, but Karol Swiderski put Poland ahead in the early stages. The equaliser came with 13 minutes to go from Baris Alper Yilmaz, but Nicola Zalewski won it for his side at the death. Poland booked their place in the European Championships in the first game of this stretch. They did so at the expense of Wales. The game finished 0-0 after 90 minutes, before Poland prevailed 5-4 on penalties. Poland edged possession but remarkably failed to register a single shot on target. However, they were able to keep their opponents out and hang on for the shootout.