France to overpower Finland on final day of WCQ

Finland vs France - 16/11/2021

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France have qualified for the World Cup 2022 as Group D winners with 15 points from 21 on offer. On Tuesday, the French visit Finland, who are seeking qualification to the UEFA World Cup playoffs.

A win for the Finish team would send them to the playoffs. Anything less opens the door for Ukraine to overtake them. Finland are on 11 points from 21 on offer while Ukraine have taken nine points.

The Ukrainians play Bosnia on the final day, which won’t be easy for the struggling Yellow and Blue.

Finland are on a good run of form in World Cup qualifying. They have won back-to-back matches over Kazakhstan and Bosnia. The wins weren’t against Europe’s most difficult teams, but Finland have beaten what has been put in front of them.

Didier Deschamps’ France have won four straight matches in all competitions. On matchday 7 of Group C, France thrashed Kazakhstan 8-0. Kylian Mbappe scored four times and Karim Benzema had two goals.

The reverse fixture between France and Finland was played in September with the French team winning 2-0. Antoine Griezmann’s brace on either side of halftime gave France the victory.

France have played Finland 10 times dating back to 1960. The French have dominated the head-to-head versus Finland with 9W-0D-1L. Finland shocked France in 2020 in a friendly 2-0. However, France have dominated the Finns conceding just five times in 10 matches in the teams’ histories.

Deschamps has the luxury of mixing up his squad on Tuesday. He is already without midfielder Paul Pogba and centre-back Presnel Kimpembe due to injuries. The likes of Wissam Ben Yedder, Matteo Guendouzi, Jordan Veretout, and Kurt Zouma are all in line to play.

Finland coach Markku Kanerva has the unenviable task of defeating the reigning Euro 2020 champions to qualify for the World Cup playoffs. Kanerva is without Juhani Ojala and Thomas Lam due to injuries.

Teemu Pukki has scored 33 goals in 99 matches for the Norwegian national team. Pukki has two goals in his last two national team appearances. Marcus Forss should start in attack as well. He scored at the weekend versus Bosnia.

Finland have traditionally struggled versus France in previous matches. Kanerva’s team should once again struggle versus the French when the teams meet on Tuesday night.

The pressure should get to Finland with France picking up a win with under 2.5 goals scored. Finland will need Ukraine to drop points versus Ukraine to qualify for the playoffs. It should be another narrow win for France versus Finland.

Home team
Away team

Probability %

1X2

Pred

Correct score

Avg. goals

Weather conditions

Coef.

Score

Live
coef.

WCQ

Finland France 16/11/2021 20:45

172756

2

0 - 1

2.08

6°

1.50

7.00 4.20 1.50 1 1 -1

FT

0 - 2(0 - 0)

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