For the most part, this is a dead rubber fixture for the French…and a ‘hail Mary’ for the Tunisian side. If the Eagles of Carthage want to give themselves a chance at progression, the equation is clear: win.
To Win Match
Tunisia 21/5 | Draw 29/10 | France 4/7
In a series of rather unfortunate events, Tunisia have been asked to win against France to stand any chance of progress. The Tunisians have chance one point from their last two fixtures and, even should they beat France and complete missions impossible – they still aren’t guaranteed promotion.
They are yet to score in Qatar (Tunisia) and so any hope of victory has been duly thwarted. They know they will need to commit bodies forward and ask questions of this French side for the entire 90 minutes – which is of course easier said than done.
The Eagles of Carthage effectively have nothing to lose and so whilst I’m not sure about them winning, I wouldn’t put it past them to score…
This is a tricky game to adjudicate from a betting perspective, France have already guaranteed themselves qualification (effectively as the winners – but for a massive showing from Australia) and so the conundrum here is do they rotate or go for a perfect group stage round?
I suppose the reality though is that France has plenty of talent on their bench anyway – and so rotation doesn’t exactly make it straightforward. The football might be slightly different, and the domination of possession might be less apparent – but they win.
Verdict: France + BTTS (13/5)
I think the value on offer for this selection is insane, France will remain the superior side irrespective of any changes. In fact, I think should Didier Deschumps make any changes – it makes France more dangerous. Those squad players will want to put their hands up for a chance to play a role in their country’s tournament, and this is the only way to do that!
Tunisia will have to go for it, they have no other choice. They haven’t been amazing this tournament, but I think they can score at least once before returning to Africa…
