France vs Azerbaijan Prediction & Betting Tips (10 October)

Announced as one of the favorites for the next World Cup with nations like Argentina, Spain, England and Portugal, France must obviously not sell the bear's skin before having killed it and must first and foremost validate its qualification for this tournament. This objective is on track for Didier Deschamps' men who successfully entered these qualifiers by winning seriously against Ukraine 0-2 before encountering more difficulties a few days later against Iceland 2-1. Last June, France took 3rd place in Final 4 of the Nations League after its logically obtained victory against Germany 0-2, a few days after its spectacular defeat against Spain in the semi-final 5-4. More generally, the Blues reached the final of the last World Cup in 2022 and the last four during Euro 2024.

Faced with this impressive record presents a modest team from Azerbaijan which has never had the leisure to be able to participate in the slightest World Cup or the slightest Euro since its independence in the early 1990s. A potential qualification for the next World Cup also appears quite illusory for this team which has been swept by Iceland from the start 5-0 before resisting against Ukraine 1-1 a few days later. In recent months, the Milli Komanda National Team had already shown quite a few shortcomings in its League C group of the Nations League where it was ranked last in the standings with only one point behind Sweden, Slovakia and Estonia. 

Didier Deschamps deplores many absentees for this gathering. The neo Ballon d'Or Dembélé (PSG, 57 sels, 7 goals), his club partner Désiré Doué (PSG, 4 sels), the attackers Thuram (Inter, 31 sels, 2 goals) and Kolo Muani (Tottenham, 31 sels, 9 goals), and the playmaker Cherki (City, 2 sels, 1 goal) are all injured. Added to this is the package of winger Barcola (PSG, 16 goals, 3 goals). Suspended after being excluded against Iceland last month, the sentinel Tchouaméni (43 sels, 3 goals) was left at the disposal of Real. Also noted absences of defender Pavard (OM, 55 sel) and midfielder Zaire-Emery (PSG, 7 sel). Conversely, the Blues coach still relies on a solid group including goalkeeper Maignan (AC Milan, 34 sel), defenders Koundé (Barcelona, ​​44 sel), Upamecano (Bayern Munich, 32 sel), Konaté (Liverpool, 25 sel) and Gusto (Chelsea). The Hernandez brothers, Lucas (PSG, 39 sel) and Théo (Al-Hilal, 39 sel) are also there, as is Saliba (Arsenal, 28 sel), back from injury. In the middle, we note the comeback of Camavinga (Real Madrid, 26 sel) who will support Rabiot (AC Milan, 55 sel) and Manu Koné (Roma, 10 sel). The offensive sector is also well supplied with of course captain Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid, 52 goals in 92 sels), wingers Coman (Al Nassr, 59 sels, 8 goals) and Olise (Bayern Munich, 10 sels, 3 goals).

Also present are the returning Nkunku (Milan AC) and Thauvin (Lens), the center forward Ekitike (Liverpool), the nugget Akliouche (Monaco) and a newcomer, Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace). The squad which makes up this Azerbaijan team obviously has nothing to compare with that of the Blues and the resources available to the coach local are much more limited. A large majority of the players summoned for this gathering play in the weak domestic championship, in Qarabag in particular. This is the case of goalkeeper Magomedaliyev (31 sel), defenders Cafarguliyev (29 sel), Mustafazade (37 sel) and Hüseynov (29 sel), midfielder Bayramov (33 sel, 4 goals) and attackers Akhundzade (8 sel) and Qurbanli (17 sel, 3 goals). In the middle, we will have to keep an eye on the precious Mahmudov (Neftchi) who is the top scorer in this formation with 14 goals in 54 caps. It was he who equalized from the penalty spot against Ukraine the previous day. Among the rare elements to have gone abroad, we can cite defender Kryvotsyuk (Daehjon Hana Citizen, 40 sels), midfielder Kökçü (Volendam, 14 sels) and attackers Dadashov (Motor Lublin, 37 sels, 4 goals) and Emreli (Kaiserslautern (56 sels, 6 goals).