Euro Betting – Group A at Stake as France Meet Switzerland
By Zack Garrison in News
Updated: January 17, 2018 at 9:39 am ESTPublished:
Switzerland (+360) vs France (-104), Draw (+181)
The top of Group A will be at stake on Sunday when Switzerland (1-0-1, 4 pts) try to upset the host nation, France (2-0-0, 6 pts), at the Grand Stade Lille Métropole in Lille (3:00 PM Eastern).
Winning the group would be huge for both teams. A first-place finish likely sets up a game with a third-place finisher in the Round of 16. After beating Romania (2-1) and Albania (2-0) in their first two fixtures, France only need a draw to claim top spot. Switzerland, who beat Albania (1-0) and drew Romania (1-1), need a win to finish atop the group.
France have needed the full 90 minutes to emerge with wins in their first two fixtures. Neither of their victories looked smooth, and the team has struggled to put together a complete performance. They started the tournament as the favorites, but they haven’t looked the part so far despite their perfect record.
Switzerland will advance no matter the result, but a loss could lead to them finishing third and facing a much tougher road in the knockout stage. Look for them to play a disciplined defensive style and probe on the counter-attack, hoping France’s aggression opens holes in the back end.
If France play like they did in the first two matches, it won’t take a masterful defensive effort from the Swiss to make the host nation uncomfortable on the attack. They already struggled to find the net against two weaker squads. The entire nation is now anxious to see a dominant performance from Les Bleus, and that added pressure won’t help.
France does have recent history on their side though. They met Switzerland in the 2014 World Cup and romped to a 5-2 win. Sunday’s game won’t look anything like that, though. France’s offense isn’t on the same level as it was then, and the Swiss are playing well defensively. Take the draw and expect the defensive tactics of the Swiss too frustrate the predictable French attack.
Pick: Draw (+181).
(Photo Credit: Global Panorama (Flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/].)
Sports Writer
Zack is a tour guide whose favorite sports are football, baseball, and golf. He enjoys giving obnoxious commentary during games and hopes to some day write a book about sports. His favorite underdog victory was the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series.
