Euro 2020: Les Bleus Keen to Book Ticket to Knockouts in Budapest

Euro 2020: Les Bleus Keen to Book Ticket to Knockouts in Budapest

Hungary vs France

France already have one foot in the Euro 2020 knockout phase after winning their marquee matchup against Germany in their tournament opener.

Les Bleus now have their sights firmly set on beating Hungary in Budapest to secure passage to the next round with a group game to spare.

The Magyars put up a spirited fight for over 80 minutes against Portugal but eventually succumbed 3-0 to the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo and co. And the Euro 2020 betting odds will once again be significantly against them as they take on the reigning world champions.

Talking Points

Overmatched Magyars can make things tough

Hungary’s opening match against Portugal played out the way many had expected. The hosts, helped by the support of a capacity crowd at the Ferenc Puskas Stadium, worked hard on both ends against the Portuguese, who dominated 70 per cent of possession and produced most of the big chances.

Hungary were a bit lucky to keep the European champions scoreless deep into the match, although the RB Leipzig duo of goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi and defender Willi Orban also did their part. However, their resistance was eventually broken by Raphael Guerreiro’s 84th-minute goal, and Cristiano Ronaldo clinched the win with two more late goals.

The Magyars were always going to struggle to compete with the heavyweights in the Group of Death, especially without their star playmaker Dominik Szoboszlai leading the attack. With the lack of top talent on the team, their best chance of picking up positive Euro 2020 results is to defend extremely well and hope to score on the counter-attack.

That strategy is unlikely to change against the French, who should have more possession than they did against Germany. As Hungary proved against Portugal, they can be a tough team to break down and will make the world champions work hard to beat them.

Les Bleus look formidable

France showed why they are among the favourites to win Euro 2020 with a strong performance in their 1-0 win over Germany.

Their final statistics were clearly not all that impressive; they were outshot 10-4 and had a mere 38 per cent of possession. Moreover, they needed an unfortunate Mats Hummels own goal to score.

But it was clear for all to see just how in control Les Bleus were throughout the match. They were more than happy for the Germans to have the ball because the French defence – led by the great N’Golo Kante – would just snuff out attacks without too many problems.

France manager Didier Deschamps will have to change up his tactics against Hungary, though. Les Bleus will have to be more proactive in attack as Hungary play a conservative style. But France will be motivated to beat the Magyars so they can secure passage to the knockout phase with a game to spare.

The French have so much talent in the side and should be quite comfortable switching gears and going on the front foot. Karim Benzema’s return gives them a much better option in terms of picking the locks of defences that sit deep.

Deschamps has a habit of rotating his team; he constantly made changes from game to game during their run to the World Cup title in 2018. His most likely change for this match will be to take out midfielder Adrien Rabiot for another attacker like Ousmane Dembele or Kingsley Coman to help break down the Hungarian defence.

History

It may surprise some to learn that France actually have a losing record against Hungary. The Hungarians have won 12 of their 23 matches against Les Bleus, who have won eight, with three draws. However, most of the Magyars’ wins came in their glory days of the early-to-mid-20th century.

France have since dominated this matchup in more modern times. They have won each of their last five meetings, the most recent of which came in a 2005 friendly.

Betting Tip

France Asian Handicap -1.50 @ 1.97

Unsurprisingly, SBOTOP odds have France installed as overwhelming 1.30 favourites over Hungary, who have long 9.50 odds to pull off the shock upset. A draw is priced at 4.90.

Given how strong France are, the question is not if they will beat Hungary but by how much. Despite their overwhelming attacking talent, though, the French have not blown away inferior opponents in major tournaments under Deschamps. They have had to eke out their fair share of results.

But I suspect that with the likes of Mbappe and Benzema eager to get off the mark in the tournament, the French will have too much firepower for Hungary, enough to come away with a comfortable victory in Budapest.

Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.

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