France Open Their UEFA Nations League Title Defence Against Denmark

• Defending UEFA Nations League champions France will open their campaign against Denmark, hoping to start off on the right foot
• France will to play Denmark, Croatia twice and Austria as they continue with their preparations for the FIFA World Cup, where they are also the defending Champions
• Denmark will miss their captain Simon Kjaer and Leicester City’s outcast Jannik Vestergaard will be expected to fill in to thwart the threat France possesses

France will tonight begin their UEFA Nations League title defence when they host a tricky Danish side at the Stade de France in Paris. France will be hoping to improve after a poor Euro 2020 showing that saw them crash out of the round of 16.

Denmark, meanwhile, qualified for the World Cup in style, losing just one game of 10 games. They also put in a good showing at the Euro championships, where they went all the way to the semifinals.

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Match Preview

The two sides have actually been placed in the same group at the FIFA World Cup. They headline Group D, where they will also come up against Tunisia and either Australia or the United Arab Emirates.

France will walk into this fixture on the back of a very resolute defence. Didier Deschamps’ side has only conceded one goal in their last four home games. They beat Ivory Coast and South Africa in friendly matches in June.

Denmark’s head coach Kasper Hjulmand has warned France to ‘prepare well as he has a good side.’ The Danes will, however be worried that they have only won one of their last eight meetings with the defending World cup champions.

Team News

Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema are expected to be the star names. Both players are coming from a very impressive individual goal-scoring season.

Deschamps is expected to start the two, with Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann playing just behind them. Paul Pogba was omitted from the squad due to a calf injury and thus, Sports Mole reports that wonderkid Aurelien Tchouameni is expected to partner Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante in the middle of the pack.

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Les Bleus have recently reverted to a back three formation with Raphael Varane, Presnel Kimpembe and Lucas Hernandez in line to fill those positions,

Hjulmand, on the other side, will be hoping Cristian Eriksen can continue with his impressive form after making a full recovery from his heart scare. He is most likely to captain the side in the absence of Simon Kjaer.

Kasper Dolberg and Youssouf Polsen will be tasked with breaching the impermeable French defence.

Possible line ups

France

Lloris; Varane, Kimpembe, L Hernandez; Pavard, Kante, Tchouameni, T Hernandez; Griezmann; Benzema, Mbappe

Denmark

Schmeichel; Wass, Christensen, Vestergaard, Maehle; Hojbjerg, Delaney, Eriksen; Skov, Dolberg, Poulsen

Spain held by Portugal in their opening UEFA Nations League game

Sports Brief had earlier reported that Spain kicked off their campaign in the Nations League on an impressive note as Alvaro Morata scored the goal in their 1-1 draw against Portugal on Thursday night, 2 June.

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The encounter between Spain and Portugal is expected to be tough and it was truly as players of both nations gave themselves tough challenges in the battle.

Luis Enrique and his wards started the duel impressively looking for an early, but they had to wait until the 25th minute before scoring through Alvaro Morata who was assisted by Sarabia.