Written by @Wayde_D for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!
France vs Honduras | Sunday 15 June | Estadio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre | 21:00
France begin their World Cup campaign with their first ever match against Central American nation Honduras, who are due to take part in just their third tournament. The clash will be the first of five games to be played at the Estadio Beira-Rio, which has been renovated to the highest standards for the tournament. The French are widely touted to top the group, in much the same way as four years ago. It has never been a case of of the French having a lack of talent at their disposal but rather in-fighting and a lack of respect for the national jersey that has precipitated their downfall on the world stage.
To Win (90mins)
France 1/3
Draw 7/2
Honduras 84/10
France
Since winning the tournament on home soil sixteen years ago, France have been a mixture of the sublime and the simply awful. They failed to make it out of the group stages in 2002 and 2010, but lost in the final to Italy in 2006. Les Bleus were horrendous in South Africa, taking just a single point from their three group games amidst rumours of mass fallouts between the players and coach Raymond Domenech. Laurent Blanc took over the side for Euro 2012, guiding them to the quarter-finals, while his fellow world champion Didier Deschamps is currently in charge and will probably expect to achieve something similar. France are certainly tipped to qualify from what, on paper, looks like a straight-forward group.
Les Bleus had to stage a remarkable comeback to qualify, overturning a two-goal deficit to beat Ukraine 3-2 in the play-offs. However, they are considered big favourites in this game. Deschamps has shown that he is not afraid to give youth a chance during his time in charge and after fielding a rather inexperienced side in March’s win over the Netherlands, he should continue to put his trust in the likes of Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane. Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery, after disappointing in previous major tournaments, has been ruled out with injury, while Samir Nasri has been left behind on account of a disruptive nature.
Honduras
Honduras finished third in CONCACAF, behind the USA and Costa Rica. They go into the tournament as one of the minnows, having only appeared twice before. However, having drawn extremely tough groups on both those occasions, they may fancy themselves to cause a few upsets this time around. Colombian Luis Fernando Suarez is currently the man in charge and has previous experience in major competitions, having guided pool rivals Ecuador to the last-16 of the World Cup in 2006. It looks like it could be an uphill battle for them to get anything out of this match, but they did beat the United States on the road to Brazil and in Jerry Bengtson and Carlo Costly, they have two of the top scorers in CONCACAF qualifying, sixteen goals from sixteen matches between them. Hull City’s Maynor Figueroa is still likely to be the lynchpin in defence. The former Wigan man has been marshalling his country’s rearguard for years, while Wilson Palacios’ expertise will be vital in midfield if his side are to stand a chance of causing an upset.
VERDICT: France 1/3
The pair have never faced each other but France undoubtedly have more talent within their ranks. A look at their recent form shows that the Hondurans concede plenty of goals and if Les Bleus can make a strong start, it should end up being a comfortable win for Deschamps’ men.
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