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France vs Wales: Wales look to cause upset against Euro 2020 favourites France

Both teams begin their preparation for the upcoming European Championships in a friendly on Wednesday night.

When: Wednesday, June 2, 20:05 GMT

How to watch: Sky Sports Football

Follow this game live via our score centre

Best bets

France to win to nil at 5/6 (Sky Bet)

Kylian Mbappe to score first at 3/1 (bet365)

France to win 2-0 at 9/2 (Unibet)

Can Wales repeat the success of Euro 2016?

The Dragons made it all the way to the semi-finals in 2016, overachieving and capturing the hearts of millions of viewers in the process. En route to the last four they beat Slovakia, Russia, Northern Ireland and Belgium before falling to defeat against eventual winners, Portugal.

They might be around 150/1 to win the tournament this time around, but it will not stop their passionate fans from dreaming of glory, and with nothing to lose, who knows?

One player who will be key once again is Gareth Bale, who had a strong end to the campaign at Tottenham Hotspur with six goals in a period of seven matches.

Gareth Bale has finished the season at Spurs strongly

Bale has always loved representing his country and flourishes in the red of Wales. After a mixed season, Bale did not play as much as he would have liked, but that could play to his nation's benefit and he will be fresh for the challenge of leading his country in the Euros.

The attacker is available at 50/1 with Sky Bet to be the tournament's top scorer.

Last three meetings:

France 2-0 Wales (November 10, 2017)

Ethan Ampadu was one of many youngsters given a chance by Chris Coleman in Paris and they all find themselves in this year's Euro squad.

Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud found the net for France in the friendly, but Wales will have been pleased by the performances of their young players against an experienced France line-up. Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe was 18 at the time and won the Man of the Match award, showing the promise that he is now delivering in abundance on the world stage.

France 0-1 Wales (June 2, 1982)

France and Wales meet on the same date this year as they did in 1982, when Wales won for the first and only time against France. Could this offer some hope this time round?

Wales, donning their yellow away kit, defied the odds to win, taking the lead 10 minutes into the second half when Ian Rush converted a low cross. The ex-Liverpool striker's country held on in Toulouse for victory.

France 6-1 Wales (May 14, 1953)

You have to go all the way back to 1953 for the next previous meeting between the two sides and it is not one that will go down well with Wales fans.

It started well enough for The Dragons as they opened the scoring in the second minute via Ivor Allchurch. France then scored six unanswered goals as they eased to an expected victory.

Doubles from Rene Gardien and Raymond Kopa along with goals from Antoine Bonifaci and Joseph Ujlaki helped France to this friendly win.

Head-to-head record:

Played: 5

France wins: 3

Draws: 1

Wales wins: 1

France goals: 11

Wales goals: 4

Back-to-back tournament winners?

France were successful at the 2018 World Cup, defeating Croatia 4-2 after coming up short in the 2016 Euros by losing to Portugal in the final.

This year is a chance at redemption from the defeat in the last edition of the tournament and they head the market at around 5/1 with most top bookmakers.

Les Bleus certainly boast the best recent tournament form and with the amount of experience in their squad, it would be a shock not to see them in the mix to lift the trophy.

Kylian Mbappe is available at around 8/1 to be the Golden Boot winner.

Scoreline prediction: France 2-0 Wales

Given the talent in France's squad, it is impossible to recommend anything but a French success. They have strength in depth in every position and will want to go into the tournament flying, and victory over a hearty Wales team would aid that.
Attacking-wise France have an abundance of talent and have players to choose from such as Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema.

Kylian Mbappe has scored 42 goals for PSG this season

Wales' game plan will most likely be to contain the French side, with very little in the form of attacking intent. For that reason, it is difficult to envisage them scoring a goal and a France win to nil looks a good bet.

Goalscorer bets

Kylian Mbappe boasts a record of 16 international goals in his already impressive career. The PSG attacker provides pace, power and skill and the 22-year-old is 3/1 to score first with bet365.

Sky Bet have him at 19/20 to score anytime.

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