Le Blues made light of Frank Ribery’s withdrawal with an 8-0 rout of Jamaica in their last pre-World Cup warm up match. France fans were left devastated when head coach Didier Deschamps announced that the Bayern Munich winger would miss the Brazil showpiece but the team bounced back with confidence against Jamaica. It is a given that the Europeans will face tougher opponents in the World Cup than the Raggae boys but the win was nevertheless morale boosting. France took the hard road to the Brazil showpiece, failing to secure automatic qualification after coming second to Spain and having to subdue Ukraine in a dramatic 3-2 aggregate victory. Didier Deschamps’s men will be hoping to exorcise the demons of 2010 when they crashed out in the group stages without recording a single win. Honduras will also head into the match with some sort of confidence having played out a 0-0 stalemate with England in Miami. Honduras play very physical football – bordering on brutality – as they showed in the England match and will be hoping to shut the French out. Manager Luis Fernando Suarez’s men have never won a World Cup match and needless to say, have never made it through the group stage. This is their second straight appearance at the World Cup and the third in total as La H made its debut back in 1982.
Special Offer: $700 Fance vs Honduras FREE BET
TEAM NEWS
Didier Deschamps’ back four is pretty solid with Raphael Varane expected to partner Liverpool’s Mamdou Sakho in central defence. Patrice Evra and Bakary Sagna should play on either side of defense. Oliver Giroud is expected to drop to the bench while Antoinne Griezman takes up the left wing position with Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema leading the attack.
The biggest loss for Honduras will be Rangers midfielder Arnold Peralta, after he was ruled out with a thigh strain. British quartet Emilio Izaguirre, Maynor Figueroa, Wilson Palacios and Roger Espinoza are all available and will be crucial for Luis Suarez.
Special Offer: Deposit $50 and get a $150 Fance vs Honduras FREE BET
Possible Line ups
France (4-3-3) : Lloris; Evra, Sakho, Varane, Sagna; Cabaye, Matuidi, Pogba; Griezman,
Valbuena, Benzema
Honduras (4-4-2) : Valladares; Izaguirre, Figueroa, Bernandez, Beckeles; W. Palacios, O.
Garcia, Garrido, Claros; Bengston, Palacios
KEY BATTLE
What key battle? The whole of the French midfield and attack will barrage the Hondurans who are likely to defend deep.
ONE TO WATCH
Former Manchester United youth player Paul Pogba has developed into an all-action midfielder and was instrumental in Juventus’ Serie A title win last season. The Frenchman has energy and drive and will take the game by the scruff of the neck with a typically energetic display.
PREDICTION
Both teams were able to take only one point out of their respective groups in South Africa 2010. Unfortunately for Honduras, all similarities end there. France have moved on from the in- fighting that triggered such an ignominious showing and will be fully focused on wrecking havoc in the right place this time around – the field of play. Realistically, Honduras can only hope to take some experience from the World Cup as they are not expected to qualify from the group stage, again.
France 4 – 0 Honduras at $19 with Bet365 – Join Now for a $200 FREE BET – Limited Offer