Our prediction for this Nations League match:
Struggling France will look to record their first win of their UEFA Nations League campaign when they face Austria at Stade de France on Thursday evening. Les Tricolores have been underperforming in Group 1, and, no doubt, they will give 100% to return to winning ways. Real Madrid ace Karim Benzema misses out with injury, while both Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Dembele have been included. Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba is sidelined with a meniscus injury, but PSG ace Kylian Mbappe, who has netted seven goals in seven appearances in the Ligue 1 this term, will surely make life difficult for the opposition back-line.
The Austrians, on the other hand, aim to put an end to their three-game winless run, but given the importance of Thursday’s clash for Didier Deschamps’ troops, anything but a routine home win would be a major surprise. A man to watch in the away team will be Bologna striker Marko Arnautovic, who has 102 caps for the national team.
Highlighted Player (Kylian Mbappé):
Kylian Mbappe is a French footballer who plays for Paris Saint-Germain as a forward. The French rising star began his youth career at AS Bondy and in 2013 he moved to AS Monaco. After making 12 appearances for Monaco B, Kylian Mbappe made his debut for the senior team in 2015. Mbappe quickly established himself as a regular goalscorer, with the teenager finding the net 15 times in 29 appearances in the Ligue 1 in the 2016/2017 season.
In 2017 he moved to fellow French club PSG on loan, with the option of making the deal permanent. Kylian Mbappe scored 13 goals in 27 appearances for les Parisiens in the 2017/2018 and it has to be noted that Unai Emery’s troops eventually won the national championship.
Speaking of his international career, Mbappe played an important role for France at the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals, with the pacey rising star scoring a brace in a thrilling 4-3 win over Argentina in the last 16 of the showpiece tournament. The PSG attacker was born in Paris on December 20, 1998.
Highlighted Team (Austria):
Austria is one of Europe’s oldest national football teams and they enjoyed plenty of success during the 1930’s, earning the nickname Wunderteam in the process. Das Team achieved a fourth-place finish at the second World Cup in 1934, before finishing in third place at the 1954 finals. However, Austria have since participated at another five World Cup finals, never getting past the first knockout stage.
Das Team were even more disappointing in the European Championship qualifying campaigns, failing to qualify for 12 straight tournaments before appearing at the 2008 finals as co-hosts. However, Austria made it to the Euro 2016 in style, winning nine of ten qualifiers to suggest the team may be on the path to return to old glory days.
Former Bayern Munich midfielder Andreas Herzog is the team’s most capped footballer with 103 appearances, whereas Toni Polster is the most prolific striker with 44 goals in 95 outings. Matthias Sinderlar, Ernst Ocwirk, Herbert Prohaska and Hans Krankl are some of the most notable players to have represented Austria over the years.