The French edge - 4 reasons why France will start as the favourites tonight

It is guaranteed to be one of the most fascinating games of Euro 2012. Let us see, how France will get an edge over England in tonight’s game.

1. Better recent form

France have just been outstanding in recent times. Regular fantastic performances have led to an astonishing 21 games unbeaten run for France, which also included wins against teams like Brazil and Germany. The last game which France played was against Estonia in which they trounced Estonia 4-0.

On the other hand, England did have an easy qualification process, but since then the team has faced major changes. From key players to the manager, everything has changed. I don’t say that England has been poor, but when compared to the recent form of Les blues, surely they have been behind them.

2. Laurent Blanc

He took over the reins when the team were under a presidential inquiry following the miserable run in the World cup. Since he took over, Laurent Blanc has been phenomenal. Even after exceptional performances from his team, he refused to agree with reporters who claimed that France were among the favourites.

Blanc is well aware of the defensive approach that would be employed by Roy Hodgson. He said, “If we play the English way, then it’ll be 0-0 and we might get a goal from a set-piece – so we’ll play our own game. I hope the side that plays more football will win the game, but it’s not always the case.”

3. Organised attack v/s fragile defence

France will have another advantage. Proper analysis suggests that France is better organised in attack. For France, it would be Benzema, but for England it would be either the inexperienced Welbeck or out of form Andy Caroll.

Moreover, England have a suspect defence of which the likes of Samir Nasri, Ribery and Benzema can take advantage of. Even when the players of both teams are compared, you would find that France have the upper hand.

4. Historical Analysis

In Euro 2004, when England was winning 1-0, and everyone thought it was all but over. But France made a comeback and won the game 2-1 in injury time. For a long time now, France have always been the better team when it played against England. The last time England defeated France was way back in 1997 in Montpellier. The last game they played was in London, which ended in France’s favour.