Prediction: Denmark vs France

Verdict: Away win

Best odds: 11/10

Bookmaker: Unibet

At the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen on Sunday, Denmark will be hosting France in the final round of the League A Group 1 of the UEFA Nations League. The match bears similar levels of importance to the two sides, even if not in exactly the same way.

Denmark

The hosts may yet go on to win the group, sitting second with nine points to their name, just one less than Croatia leading the way. The hope that bottom side Austria can manage a result against the Croats at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna is faint, but they must cling onto it at this point. After all, it did happen rather comprehensively in the opening round in Osijek.

The Danes started their campaign in a great way, by beating France in Saint-Denis by 1-2. Then they repeated the feat against Austria in Vienna by the same scoreline, but just as it looked as if they would go on to dominate the group, the Croats woke up and Kasper Hjumland’s men were beaten 0-1 in Copenhagen. A 2-0 win at home over Austria brought back some faith, but Croatia beat Denmark again on Thursday, with Borna Sosa and Lovro Majer on target for the hosts while Christian Eriksen bagged one for his team.

Team News

Midfielder Jesper Lindstrom missed the Croatia clash on Thursday through a brief bout of illness, but Hjumland apparently expects him back in contention by Sunday.

Striker Martin Braithwaite did not impress in Zagreb and got subbed after less than an hour, and it could mean Kasper Dolberg starting in his place this time. Winger Mikkel Damsgaard and fullback Rasmus Kristensen will also be hoping for Hjumland to shuffle his squad given the short time since the last match.

France

Still the champions of the world, France will be hugely disappointed with their Nations League campaign. Sitting third in the group with just five points, Didier Deschamps and his players better hope for the same thing as Denmark to happen in Vienna, because if Austria beat Croatia there and they lose to Denmark in Copenhagen, the unthinkable will happen – they will be relegated to League B.

France earned their first victory of the campaign on Thursday, at the fifth time of asking, by beating Austria 2-0 in Saint-Denis. Before that, they lost 1-2 at home to Denmark, played a 1-1 draw away to Croatia and another one away to Austria, and lost 0-1 at home to Croatia.

The World Cup and the title defence there is, of course, their main focus of the year, but they’ll still want to avoid the embarrassment of finishing last in the group.

Conclusion

Interestingly enough, Denmark and France will also meet in Qatar, having been drawn together in Group D along with Australia and Tunisia.

As for their clash on Sunday, France are considered likely to rise to the occasion and return home with the three points to guarantee their survival.

Verdict: Away win

Best odds: 11/10

Bookmaker: Unibet