France v England Euro 2012 betting odds has some great coverage thanks to a great promotional offering from online bookmaker Paddy Power. June 11th sees these two old rivals come together in the first group match of Group D at Poland and Ukraine 2012, and the importance on this match will be immense. Neither will want to start the tournament off with a loss, which will then lead to high pressure in trying to play catch up. So a good start is needed, but it is Roy Hodgson’s England who go into the match just as slight underdogs. The bookies have really been split between these two for match betting, but following pre-tournament international friendly matches, the French have just edged ahead after England posted two very unconvincing 1-0 wins over Norway and Belgium.
Here is where the real value of the Paddy Power France v England Money Back Special comes in. If England beat France, then Paddy Power will refund all losing First Goalscorer, Last Goalscorer, Correct Score and Score-cast bets placed on the match. So this provides some wonderful coverage in your sub-market betting for the match. In the First Goalscorer market for example, Real Madrid star Karim Benzema is favourite to open the scoring at 5/1, while England’s young star Danny Welbeck is priced at 13/2 to break the deadlock. In the valuable Correct Score Market, a 1-1 Draw is the favourite option priced at 5/1, closely followed by a 1-0 win for France at 11/2. So bets like these and more can be taken with the great coverage of lost stake refunds on the aforementioned markets if England win the game.
France 6/4, England 15/8, Draw 11/5
This is it. No more warm ups, not more talk, it is time to get down to business. This could well end up being the group decider and England will know that they cannot afford to lose this one. Trailing France after the first match will give England just two more chances to redress the problem, with following matches against Sweden and the Ukraine to come. England’s warm up matches, the first two under the charge of Roy Hodgson, really were not very convincing from the Three Lions perspective. Hodgson appears to be intent on a very rigid 4-4-2, with players sticking to zonal operations and with no-one dropping deep from the two forward players, link up play has been limited, and so has been holding on to the ball. England were second best in possession against both Norway and Belgium and giving the ball away so easily against France will ultimately lead to a lot more punishment. England look as if they are going to do things the defensive, hard working way as opposed to being a fluent, comprehensive side. That may be the best way forward with a limited squad, talent-wise. The key area is going to be the midfield for England, but it is an area in which they are likely to be heavily outnumbered.
France meanwhile ran off a 3-2 win over Iceland and then a 2-0 win over Serbia in their warm up matches. So Laurent Blanc’s men look solid enough and they genuinely look as if they are going to be one of the strongest dark horses of the tournament Blanc’s relationship with the FFA isn’t great and there has been talk of disruptions behind the scenes, but the French side has come a long way since their miserable World Cup 2010. They have arguably taken much more positive steps forward than England over the past couple of years and they were very solid through Euro 2012 qualification The difference between the two sides is natural talent and creativity France can call on the likes of Franck Ribery, Samir Nasri, Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa, with Benzema being the main man up front. So there is a lot of quality throughout the French side and they look to have a bit more of a spring in their step than England have. They should get a lot of possession in the match, primarily because they will have a bigger presence in midfield and will be able to pass their way through Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker, the central midfield duo for the Three Lions.
France v England Head to Head
Out of 28 previous meetings, England actually hold a strong head to head record with 16 wins of France’s 8. The last time they met was a friendly in November of 2010, which France won 2-1 at Wembley. France are undefeated in the last four appearances against England (three wins and a draw) and in European Championship finals, France have produce one win and one draw against the English. So momentum is with France.
Prediction: So France may just be edging things, but in tense, tournament openers, a draw doesn’t seem too much of a long stretch. England have to be wary of the movement and more natural attacking threat that France pose, but the longer England can keep a clean sheet, the more tense the French will get. England can’t match France in passing and creativity, and so will have to dig deep for a result. If England win, it will be a result which is ground out. However, France just have the extra attacking flair and creativity, and from dead ball situations. So France to win by 1 Goal for 3/1 at Bet365 is too attractive to pass up.
