UEFA Nations League Sweden v France Preview - (2025)

Updated: 23/01/2025

2020-21 UEFA Nations League, Group A3 preview – Sweden v France – Friends Arena. Solna – September 5,2020 – 19:45hrs BST

Sweden v France Preview

France and Sweden square off against each other in Group 3 of League A which is indeed the strongest cluster of all in this year's edition of the UEFA nations League what with sides like title-holders Portugal and World-Cup runners up Croatia thrown in.

Didier Deschamps’ side visit Solna, Sweden as favourites, being the World champions, but will be wary of the Swedes who have beaten them twice from the last four times they met.

Sweden v France Match Centre

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Sweden showed their mettle the last time they played in 2017,when they came from behind to beat Les Bleus 3-2.

But the French side are a fearsome proposition these days with a squad that has names like Kylian Mbappe, included despite his involvement in the Champions League final little more than a week ago.

Les Bleus topped their Euro 2020 qualifying group after eight wins from 10 games, although they did lose 2-0 in Turkey during that campaign.

The Turks managed a 1-1 draw back in France in the return, pointing to a weakness in the world champions which Sweden will look to exploit.

As for the French attack, apart from Mbappe there will be Antoine Griezmann who had a below average season in Barcelona and will have a point to prove at Solna.

Mbappe, by contrast, had his best season with 38 goals and 16 assists for his club, PSG. This also included 2 hat-tricks and one goal per match.

The attack will be further bolstered by the presence of Bayern Munich's Champions League hero Kingsley Coman in the wings and the in-form Chelsea striker Oliver Giroud.

The defense will have Lucas Digne, Leo Dubois, Lucas Hernandez and Presnel Kimpembe who will be a hard bunch to get past.

Kimpembe has been outstanding  with a 94.8% success rate in passing and a shot-creating action score of 0.54 for every match, besides enjoying 63% success in tackles last year.

Another piece of news from the French camp is that playmaker Paul Pogba is out of contention after the Manchester United midfielder had been tested positive for coronavirus.

The Swedish too are confident after a strong qualifying campaign for the postponed Euro 2020, with their only defeat in 10 fixtures coming away to Spain.

They also have had more match practice than France and have also been in action more recently playing two friendlies against Kosovo and Moldova in January.

Le Bleus haven’t played since November due to the pandemic and the Swedes will hope to take advantage of their nine-month hiatus from international inactivity.

The trio of Marcus Berg, Alexander Isak and Robin Quaison will be expected to deliver for the home side at Salno.

Berg is one of the top scorers with three goals and an assist from his previous five outings while Quaison has had an amazing season with 22 goals, 3 assists and 2 hat-tricks from his 45 matches for Bundesliga club Mainz 05.

Coach Janne Andersson is expected to go with a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 formation for Sweden depending on if they want to attack initially while The French on the other will rely on a 4-4-2 combination.

The world champions definitely look the stronger side, however, Sweden with their good form in past and recent games plus a home advantage can be expected to put up a stiff resistance and even possibly spring a surprise.

Sweden v France selected Odds

Bet365 odds

France to win: 8/11

Sweden to win: 4/1

Draw: 13/5

Both teams to score

Yes: 4/5

No: 10/11

Correct Score:

Draw 1-1: 6/1

France 2-0: 13/2 (predicted scoreline)

France 2-1: 15/2

Draw 0-0: 8/1

Sweden 1-0: 10/1

Sweden 2-1: 14/1

Sweden 2-0: 22/1

The more adventurous can go for a 1-1 draw

Anytime goalscorer

Kylian Mbappe: 11/8

Antoine Griezmann: 11/8

Olivier Giroud: 6/4

Anthony Martial: 21/10 (WilliamHill)

Kingsley Coman: 11/4

Marcus Berg: 3/1

Robin Quaison: 4/1

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