The World Cup winners could lay the first stone of a potential successful title defense – something only two teams have ever done.
France play host to Ukraine at Stade de France on Wednesday evening for their opening World Cup qualifying fixture.
Didier Deschamps’ men do not have much friction on their road to Qatar as they have Finland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kazakhstan as the other opponents in Group D.
France vs Ukraine Form
The hosts claimed 16 out of a possible 18 points in the Nations League group stages. It was Finland who surprisingly beat them 2-0 and stole two points from them.
A team filled to the brim with talented attacking players, they won each of their three home games in 2020 by at least a 4-goal margin.
A 4-2 victory over Sweden represents the most recent result for France, who have appeared in all the finals of the biggest stage of them since 1994.
The visitors, meanwhile, come into this game on the back of a 3-0 defeat to Switzerland.
Andriy Shevchenko’s are on a dreadful run of seven successive losses, with their last victory coming against Spain last October.
Only once have the Eastern European nation progressed to the World Cup finals since 1994 but qualification through a second-place finish seems probable this time.
France vs Ukraine Head-to-head
France were ruthless in the previous meeting against Ukraine as they won 7-1 in the friendly outing. Olivier Giroud, Eduardo Camavinga, Corentin Tolisso, Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann were all on target.
France vs Ukraine Team News
Notable absentees from the talented French squad are RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano, Rennes midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, and Borussia Monchengladbach forward Marcus Thuram.
Predicted XIs:
France vs Ukraine Latest Odds
Be sure not to miss out on the latest news about France
Download our brand new App and follow your favorite players, clubs, and much more
