Our football match prediction:
France
Match Time & Date:
10/11/2017
20:00 GMT
Prediction: 2-0
Wales
After making it to the EURO 2016 semis last year, Wales failed to impress in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. The Dragons finished the process in third place in their qualifying group, but it has to be noted that key player Gareth Bale missed the decider against Republic of Ireland with injury. The Real Madrid ace will not participate at the showpiece tournament in Russia and he remains in the recovery room ahead of Friday’s football match against France. Thanks to back-to-back wins over Bulgaria and Belarus les Tricolores secured automatic qualification for the FIFA World Cup finals and they are surely brimming with confidence ahead of the Wales friendly. Seeing that the visitors will be without Gareth Bale in the Stade de France showdown, we predict that the hosts will have a reason for celebration on Friday evening. You should know, though, that France midfielder Paul Pogba misses the match (injury) as well.
Highlighted Player (Pogba):
After spending four seasons at Juventus, Paul Pogba returned to Manchester United in the summer of 2016. The French midfielder signed a five-year deal with the Premier League giants for a world-record fee of €105 million. He set an all-time record for highest football transfer fee, surpassing Gareth Bale, the former record holder. However, he missed the 2016/2017 Premier League opener against Bournemouth through suspension. Pogba was born in Lagny-sur-Marne, France on 15 March, 1993 and he represents les Tricolores on the international stage. He won the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup with France, while making it to the Euro 2016 final with Didier Deschamps’ troops. However, they were beaten by Portugal in the title game at Stade de France. It has to be noted that Paul Pogba won four Serie A trophies with Juventus. He produced a fine display in the 2013/2014 Champions League final against Barcelona, but Juve suffered a 3-1 loss to Barca in the Olympiastadion Berlin clash. Pogba is a central midfielder, but he is capable of playing as an attacking and a defensive midfielder as well.
Highlighted Team (Wales):
Despite being part of the United Kingdom, Wales national football team has been competing in FIFA tournaments since 1950, although they have so far only reached two tournament finals. The Dragons surprised everyone by making it to the quarter-finals at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, but little did they know that it would remain their only World Cup appearance up to date. Wales had plenty of problems in the European Championship qualifiers as well, but they finally managed to end the barren run by securing their place at the Euro 2016 in France. Led by the likes of Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and Ashley Williams, the Dragons performed admirably throughout the campaign and even reached the 8th position in the FIFA Rankings in October 2015. Neville Southall remains the team’s most capped player, but the generation that included Ryan Giggs, Gary Speed, Craig Bellamy and John Hartson will also be remembered for some impressive performances against top European national teams.
