The defending World Cup champions survived the Group of Death, but it wasn’t easy. France won just one of their three matches, and both Hungary and Portugal proved to be game opponents. That gives Switzerland reason for optimism prior to their meeting in the Round of 16 on Monday. The Swiss routed Turkey 3-1 to make it to the Round of 16, but this country will have a hard time advancing any further. This is just the second time that Switzerland made it out of the Group Stage at the Euros, and they have yet to win a knockout round game.
Don't miss a second of EURO 2020. This match will be held at the Arena Nationala in Bucharest, Romania at 3 p.m. ET on Monday, June 28, 2021. Catch every moment of the match live on ESPN.
UEFA EURO 2020 Odds at BookMaker.eu
France -187
Switzerland +578
Draw +316
Over/Under 2 and 2.5
Odds Analysis
These teams have a surprising amount of familiarity with each other at international tournaments. They were in the same group at the 2004 and 2016 European Championships and both the 2006 and 2014 World Cup.
France absolutely blitzed Switzerland at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Olivier Giroud and Blaise Matuidi scored in back-to-back minutes to get the French going, and they held a 5-0 lead at the 73rd minute after Moussa Sissoko found a goal. The Swiss added two goals to make the final score line more respectable, but that game was well and truly over.
Neither team had much of an impetus to win their match at the 2016 Euros. France knew they would win the group with a draw, while Switzerland knew it would make the knockout rounds of the Euros for the first time with a result. That led to a largely listless match that ended in a goalless draw.
There will be goals this time around. France has an abundance of attacking talent, and that propelled them to the 2018 World Cup title. Karim Benzema can still get it done, and Kylian Mbappe is the most promising young forward in the world. Antoine Griezmann is the most reliable attacking option of the bunch, and Olivier Giroud can come off the bench and provide a spark.
Les Bleus are incredibly strong in the midfield with N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba complementing each other incredibly well. Kante is an incredible defensive midfielder that can take teams out of their comfort zone, while Pogba is a gifted distributor that does a great job putting the forwards in dangerous areas with the ball.
A healthy Benjamin Pavard will be key for the back line. Raphael Varane has played well too, so it won’t be easy to unhinge France’s defense. Switzerland will try with Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri though.
Shaqiri leads Switzerland with 25 goals, and Xhaka excels on set pieces. This team doesn’t have a talented No. 9 that can make the most of his chances though. Haris Seferovic is the best forward on the roster, but he didn’t have the skill to finish his chances against Wales.
Matchup to Watch
It won’t be easy for Fabian Schar, Ricardo Rodriguez, and the rest of Switzerland’s back line to hold back France. The French are likely going to control the ball for long stretches in this match, so the Swiss will need to take advantage of chances to counter whenever they are able to break out.
Free EURO 2020 Betting Pick
France will handle their business against Switzerland on Monday. The French are the team to beat at EURO 2020, and it will take a fantastic effort for an opponent to stop them.
EURO 2020 Odds: France 2, Switzerland 0
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