The story behind the game
The French Football Federation has not skipped a beat since their 2018 FIFA World Cup glory in Russia. So far posting an impressive 4-0-1 record in their Euro 2020 Qualifier matches with a goal difference of +12. Coming off a relatively easy but impressive 4-1 win against Albania on Saturday, morale within the France squad should be high and they are probably eager to have a go at Andorra in hopes of similar results. With the amount of talent on this Les Bleus squad, this is probably not shocking to many. Unfortunately, this most likely spells bad news for their Tuesday night opponents Andorra.
On paper, it is quite the mismatch in talent, but fortunately for Andorra, the match is not won on paper, thus giving Andorra a small chance to steal a result. Andorra are currently at the bottom of Group H with a 0-0-5 record and a dismal goal difference of -11. Sadly, the talent is just not there for this squad like it is for France and this will most likely be evident on the pitch come Tuesday night.
The Bright Spots
The list of players to look out for on this France team could be never-ending, but a few influential players to keep an eye on are: Antoine Griezmann, Benjamin Pavard and Kingsley Coman.
Griezmann, one of the top strikers in the football today is always involved in France’s buildup play whether by finishing it off or picking up an assist or two along the way. The new FC Barcelona man has not necessarily found his dominant form yet but a couple of good appearances with the national team may help to boost his confidence.
Pavard, the 23-year-old right-back of Bayern Munich is continuing his impressive World Cup play and is constantly getting better. Coman, the winger who is also at Bayern continually shows great pace, skill and finishing. After scoring two goals against Albania on Saturday, he and his teammates will certainly be hoping for much of the same on Tuesday. Coman, also only 23 years of age, certainly has the potential to become one of the top players in football.
When looking at Andorra there are not as many options but one player to look at would be team captain Ildefons Lima. At the age of 39 years young, he is currently the top goalscorer and most capped player for Andorra. The centre-back is surely hoping to keep the damage at a minimum on Tuesday all while increasing his caps for the national team, which currently stands at 124.
The Breakdown
The last time these two teams met was back in June where France unsurprisingly dominated and won the match 4-0. It is safe to say France head coach Didier Deschamps will hope for much of the same in Tuesday’s home match.
Even with the absence of Paris St-Germain young sensation Kylian Mbappe, this should be a rather routine victory for the French. Les Bleus will most likely stick to their 4-2-3-1 formation with either Olivier Giroud or Griezmann acting as the lone striker. While Andorra seems set to stick with their 4-4-2 formation which they have used throughout qualifiers.
It remains to be seen if France or Andorra will make lineup changes from their matches played on Saturday. But chances are there will be some changes in the France lineup and possibly even in the Andorra squad. Regardless of who is in the Andorra starting XI, they will be under plenty of pressure throughout the 90 minutes. The one thing that seems to be certain, is that France should come out of this match-up victorious.
Kick-off on Tuesday at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis is at 8:45 pm (CET).