France sits atop Group C despite a shaky performance in the win over Australia. Will they be able to play in a much better form against Peru this Thursday? Or will Peru get into the plus column with an earth-shaking upset victory over Le Bleus?
Sure, Le Bleus won 2-1 over Australia in the opener, but it’s clear that France are far from top form. Because if they were, then there’s no way the Socceroos would have gotten that close to drawing with them. France defense was abused once again. With Australia scoring on them, Le Bleus remains to have just one clean sheet defensively over their past seven international matches. In any case, France head coach Didier Deschamps has a battalion of top-tier talent to work with. Antoine Griezmann, who scored on a penalty, against Australia is a man to watch going forward along with the likes of Olivier Giroud, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, and Paul Pogba, who scored the game-winner in the opener. France don’t have lots of time to get it together, and they will have to start playing better than a team that controlled the ball for only 51 percent of the time against a weak squad like Australia sooner than later.
Betting on Peru (+475)
Peru occupy the cellar spot in Group C, as they are the only team in that block who has yet to score a goal in Russia following a 1-0 loss to Denmark in the opener. It’s not for a lack of chances though. Instead, The Incas simply failed to convert any of their numerous well-positioned opportunities. Peru even outshot Denmark by a wide margin of 18-10. They also had six on-target attempts compared to Denmark, three. It could be said that Peru were simply unlucky in that match. Sustaining that kind of effort is going to be key for Peru against France, who are having issues defensively as mentioned earlier. Striker Paolo Guerrero, perhaps Peru’s best player, played in only 30 minutes against Denmark, but he is expected to get more playing time against France. In his relatively brief time on the pitch, Guerrero was able to create scoring opportunities of his own, which he is definitely looking to recreate against France.
