France v Iceland Betting Preview – Euro 2016, 3rd July
Iceland have put in a tremendous amount of work so far at Euro 2016 and they have enjoyed their rewards. After putting up a W1 D2 record in the group stage to finish second, they raised their game even further in their first ever knockout stage match in a major tournament, but finishing off England. So now host nation France are waiting for them in the quarter finals. Can the brave Iceland side take their journey even further, or will France, with all the attacking power that they have in their squad, be able to come up with the answers to move through to the semi finals?
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France v Iceland Betting Tips
Will the French be a little nervous about this one? Maybe so after seeing Iceland having already come through some big tests, notably against Portugal and England. France, one of the pre-tournament favourites haven’t come out of the starting blocks too quickly in any of their matches so far. It hasn’t quite been the dominant performances from them that they were supposed to have produced but on the other side of that, they have gotten through their tests through a bit of grit in the end along with some individual brilliance. They have a strong squad, full of great options and after their come from behind win over Ireland in the last round, that would have topped off their confidence a bit you would imagine. Antoine Griezmann was on the scoresheet twice against Ireland and he can be backed at 7/5 in the anytime goalscorer market for the game, with team mate Olivier Giroud at 11/10. With Iceland having taken just one clean sheet in their last eleven internationals, this is a great chance for France.
France are capable of putting a strong ninety minutes together, but haven’t done so yet at Euro 2016. They will have learned lessons from Iceland’s triumph over England no doubt because they can expect their opponents to throw much the same things at them. Iceland pressed surprisingly high against England, but France have far more craft than the Three Lions in exploiting that. Four of the last five games between France and Iceland have gone over 2.5 goals and this one to go the same way will return you a price of 11/10. France have netted at least two goals in five of their last six games against Iceland, the last two clashes ending in 3-2 wins for Les Bleus. Both teams to score in this one is a price of 6/4 (both having scored in each of the last five meetings). It’s not too likely that the French are going to give up two goals in this one, as the two goals they have conceded in the tournament have both been from the penalty spot.
Iceland have never recorded an international victory over France. But with them having beaten England in what was their first ever major tournament knockout stage fixture, they will be believing in themselves, particularly with them having been so comfortable against the Three Lions. Iceland have scored in each of their last twelve games played now and have conceded in all but one of their last eleven played. So the one thing to expect when Iceland turn up for a game is goals. Their four games at Euro 2016 have either produced a 1-1 draw or a 2-1 victory. The 1-1 draw in the correct score market is 8/1 while a 2-1 win for Iceland would return odds of 28/1. Iceland are fearless, they defend doggedly and play to simple strengths in getting forward. However, they will face a much more composed and talented side in France than they did against England.
France v Iceland Betting Odds
France 2/5, Draw 15/4, Iceland 9/1
France v Iceland Predictions
As much as the neutral would love to see it, it’s unrealistic to believe that Iceland are going to go all the way and win the tournament. They are likely to be stopped in their tracks here, because the French are versatile and crafty enough to produce a victory in this one. It may well be worth backing both to score, but France have more options at their disposal to call upon and they will find a way to edge out the minnows. France to win and over 2.5 goals.
