MY ACCOUNT
The Nations League remains the focus on Friday with another seven matches, including two more eye-catching games in an entertaining group featuring France, Austria, Denmark and Croatia.
Ralf Rangnick’s Austria will host world champions France in Vienna while Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark take on Croatia.
Austria vs France (7.45pm BST)
Somewhat surprisingly, France are still awaiting their first win of their Nations League campaign.
Les Bleus lost at home to Denmark before being held by Croatia last time out, thanks to Andrej Kramaric’s late penalty.
This current round of games has seen some of the traditional European heavyweights struggle to flex their muscles as usual, probably due to the fact the fixtures are coming hot on the heels of another busy domestic season.
The top players are tired and the underdogs have been able to take advantage — a trend that may well continue with Austria, under the tutelage of new boss Rangnick, fancied to avoid defeat against Didier Deschamps’ side.
The hosts are again likely to be without centre-back Philipp Lienhart due to illness but fellow defender David Alaba has been passed fit.
Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has pulled out of the France squad through injury and has been replaced by Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate, who is tipped to make his senior international debut.
Other players in contention for Les Bleus recalls include N’Golo Kante, Hugo Lloris, Lucas Hernandez and Jules Kounde.
Kylian Mbappe did not play on Monday after sustaining a minor knee injury against Denmark, but the Paris Saint-Germain star could return, while Deschamps must also decide whether to start with experienced forwards Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann after they were both left out of the starting XI against Croatia.
Denmark vs Croatia (7.45pm BST)
The Danes are in fine form ahead of their home clash with Croatia and are expected to maintain their upward momentum with another victory, which would be their fourth on the spin.
With Christian Eriksen’s much-heralded recent return to international action giving them a boost, Kasper Hjulmand’s side can get the better of an out-of-sorts Croatia, who have failed to win in two and have only won two of their last five matches overall.
The two countries have met six times previously, with Croatia edging the head-to-head record with three wins, most recently a penalty shootout victory in the 2018 World Cup last 16.
Despite boasting plenty of top talent, the visitors have looked jaded in their opening two Nations League games with Real Madrid maestro Luka Modric and Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic struggling to assert their usual influence on games.
Coach Zlatko Dalic may opt to ring the changes for this trip to Copenhagen in an attempt to freshen up his side as he searches for a much-needed victory but the stand-in players may not be quite up to scratch and the hosts can take advantage.
Hjulmand’s men have hit nine goals in their last four games in all competitions so will approach this home clash with confidence as they look to stay top of a competitive group.
