France vs Andorra 11/09/19

11 September 2019

France and Andorra will face-off at the Stade de France in contrasting circumstances.

Rampant France have won four of five UEFA European Championship qualifying (ECQ) matches, netting precisely four goals in each of those triumphs (W4, L1). Going back to June 2016, Les Bleus have secured eight wins in nine competitive home games (W8, D1), all of which have seen them score two or more goals. Also, they’ve bagged over 1.5 match goals in all but one of their six home games since the 2018 FIFA World Cup success, friendlies included. What’s more, Didier Deschamps’ men have won all four halves of home ECQ football played so far, scoring the opening goal inside the first 12 minutes of each game.

With astronomical odds against them, the visitors have little to hope for here, as they seemed destined to finish another Euro qualifying group at the very bottom. Having lost all five of their opening qualifiers, they are the only nation in Group H that is yet to find the back of the net. Interestingly, although they’ve already conceded 11 goals, just two have arrived away from home, with Moldova and Turkey scoring one goal apiece in their respective triumphs over Andorra. Stretching back to September 2013, the Tricolours have lost all 14 of their ECQ or WCQ games, all of which have seen them fail to get to the scoresheet. Such a trend is unlikely to end here, as they’ve gone down without scoring a goal in both of their previous visits to France.