Austria vs France Prediction: Kylian Mbappé to lead Les Bleus to victory in this opener

Didier Deschamps France will play Austria in the Group D of the ongoing UEFA Euro competition. Austria will eye their first-ever national title, while France look forward to securing their second trophy in their last four competitions. Below, I will look into this encounter with full previews and make possible betting opportunities available. 

Austria

Austria will be confident entering this competition following a strong run of unbeaten performances. The Das Team qualification stage for this Euro saw them finish 2nd in Group F, picking 19 points from a possible 24, finishing just one point behind first-placed Belgium. 

Looking at this team's form into this opener, the Austria team has not tasted defeat in their last seven competitive encounters, where they won six games and drew one. In fact, their lone draw came against Switzerland in their last preparation encounter into this one. However, this team defeated Azerbaijan, Estonia, Germany, Slovakia, Turkey, and Serbia in that run, scoring 15 goals while conceding just two. 

Ahead of this game, this will be the third consecutive time that Austria will make it to the UEFA Euro competition, but Austria have just one win over France in their last ten encounters. In the meantime, Austria made it to the round of 16 in the tournament's previous edition in 2020, losing that game to champions Italy in the extra time. 

France

France will eye their second tournament win for the fourth time when they begin their 2024 UEFA Euro competition. The last time this team played a tournament was the 2022 World Cup, where they lost in penalties to Argentina in the final. While they also won the 2018 World Cup, France will look to show their quality in this competition, with Kylian Mbappe, Ngolo Kante, Antoine Griezman, and Olivier Giroud expected to be the difference. 

In the qualification stage of this competition, France finished top of Group B with 22 points, doing well to win each game except the last encounter against Greece, which ended 2-2. In those matches, France scored 29 goals while conceding just three. 

Looking at their form into this opener, Didier Deschamps' men have won just two of their last four games, coming against Chile and Luxembourg in games that ended 3-2 and 3-0. However, this team lost to Germany in a friendly encounter while playing to a goalless draw with Canada.

Austria Possible Starting Lineup:

Pentz; Posch, Danso, Wober, Mwene; Siewald, Grillitsch; Laimer, Sabitzer, Baumgartner; Gregoritsch

France Possible Starting Lineup:

Maignan; Kounde, Saliba, Upamecano, Hernandez; Kante, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Thuram

Expert Betting Tips

This is going to be a tough test for France, looking at Austria's performance up to this stage of the tournament. However, while this Austrian side will miss one of their best players, David Alaba, it is important to know they still have a threatening team on both ends of the field. Still, Didier Deschamps' squad is full of quality and blended with experience and youngsters. Therefore, with both teams expected to be focused on defensive play, a bet on a few goals is a good option to consider here while France secures a win. Also, while Mbappe is arguably the best attacker in the football world, I am backing the 2018 World Cup winner to find the back of the net just like he was crucial in the final third in the last World Cup.