Republic of Ireland host France at the Aviva Stadium
Monday’s European qualification will see the Boys in Green hosting Les Bleus at the Aviva Stadium.
After winning their friendly match against Latvia 3-2 on Wednesday, Ireland is now set to begin their quest to qualify for Euro 2024 by facing World Cup runners-up France.
France did not let their defeat in the World Cup final against Argentina hold them back, as they comfortably won their first EURO Qualifier match against the Netherlands with a 4-0 scoreline.
Since the retirement of Hugo Lloris, Mbappe has been appointed as the new captain of the French national team. As the golden boot winner, Mbappe has played a crucial role for his country since his debut and is now expected to lead the team from the front in the upcoming EURO Qualifiers. He demonstrated his skills in the first qualifier against the Netherlands on Friday, scoring two goals and providing one assist.
It is anticipated that the upcoming match between Ireland and France will be challenging for Ireland, given that France comfortably won their first qualifier against a strong Dutch team and is expected to dominate once again. The expectation is that France will emerge victorious with ease.
Credit: khelnow.com
Netherlands to have easy ride at home to Gibraltar
Netherlands will be bidding to bounce back from their heavy defeat to France when they continue their Euro 2024 qualification campaign at home to Gibraltar on Monday night.
Holland opened their Group B campaign with a 4-0 loss to France on Friday, while Gibraltar suffered a 3-0 defeat to Greece in their first match in the section.
Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman said after the France game that he was not looking to make excuses for the disappointing performance despite his side being without a number of key players through a mixture of illness, injury and suspension.
Holland must now bounce back when they welcome Gibraltar on Monday, with the national side looking to get off the mark in Group B, which also includes Republic of Ireland.
The Oranje boys will fully expect to bounce back from the France defeat in this contest, and their attention will then switch to the UEFA Nations League, preparing to take on Croatia in the semi-finals of the 2022-23 competition in the middle of June.
Gibraltar, meanwhile, will enter the contest off the back of a 3-0 home defeat to Greece on Friday. Gibraltar have faced Netherlands on two previous occasions, meanwhile, losing 7-0 at home and 6-0 away. Netherlands were so disappointing against France last time out, but we are fully expecting Koeman’s side to bounce back in this match.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Hungary begin Euro 2024 bid at home to Bulgaria
Having held their own against the big boys during the most recent continental championships, Hungary begin their bid to qualify for Euro 2024 at home to Bulgaria in Monday’s Group G battle at the Puskas Arena.
Both sides were involved in one-goal contests last time out, as Marco Rossi‘s men got the better of Estonia in a friendly, while the visitors went down to Montenegro in their Group C opener.
Expected to assume the role of whipping boys in their Euro 2020 section with Portugal, France and Germany, few eyebrows were raised when Hungary went down 3-0 to the former on the opening day, but neither the 2014 nor 2018 world champions could get the better of Rossi’s dogged and determined side.
Taking two points from their two contests with Germany and France, Hungary travelled back to their headquarters with plenty of pats on the back, and it was a similar story for the Magyars during their 2022-23 UEFA Nations League campaign against the Germans, Italy and England.
A pair of defeats to the Euro 2020 champions aside, Hungary did the double over England – including that 4-0 embarrassment at Molineux – while taking four points from a possible six against Germany, further establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with once again as they stayed put in League A.
Furthermore, six of the Magyars’ last seven Euro qualifying home matches have ended in victory.
Bulgaria may have impressively held their own on rival territory over the course of the past few months, but unlike in the animal kingdom, the Lions are the underdogs here.
With a penchant for goals at the Puskas Arena, Hungary are only on an upward trajectory and should encounter few difficulties en route to a straightforward opening win.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Sweden, Azerbaijan go head-to-head in Group F
Sweden and Azerbaijan go head-to-head at the Friends Arena in Group F of the 2024 European Championship qualifiers on Monday. Off the back of their opening-day defeats, both sides will be looking to bounce back and get their respective campaigns back on track.
Sweden were denied a dream start to their quest for a place in Germany as they fell to a 3-0 loss against a rampant Belgium side on Friday.
Prior to that, Janne Andersson’s men were on a blistering run of four consecutive friendly wins, scoring eight goals and keeping two clean sheets in that time.
While the Blågult will be looking to bounce back, they have struggled in competitive outings, with their last competitive victory coming last June, when they edged out Slovenia in their UEFA Nations League group opener.
Like the hosts, Azerbaijan were thrashed 4-1 by Austria at the Raiffeisen Arena in Friday’s group curtain-raiser.
Prior to that, the Milli komanda were on a run of five consecutive wins across all competitions, scoring 12 goals and keeping two clean sheets.
Following Friday’s defeat, Azerbaijan will look to pick up a morale-boosting result as they eye their first-ever Euro appearance.
We anticipate an end-to-end affair as both sides look to bounce back from their opening-day defeat. Given the gulf in quality and experience between the two sides, expect Sweden to see off the visitors.
Credit: sportskeeda.com
