The teams are poised to emerge in Lyon, ahead of the national anthems.
While France have played more qualification games than anyone else in their group so far, this is their first encounter with Finland on the road to Qatar. As it stands, they’re their nearest rivals too – a shock win for the visitors would cut the gap to one point between them.
Subs: Tim Sparv, Pyry Soiri, Fredrik Jensen, Robert Ivanov, Jesse Joronen, Carljohan Eriksson, Marcus Forss, Onni Valakari, Jukka Raitala, Robert Taylor, Joona Toivio, Kaan Kairinen.
FINLAND (5-3-2): Lukas Hradecky; Nikolai Alho, Leo Vaisanen, Paulus Arajuuri, Daniel O’Shaughnessy, Jere Uronen; Urho Nissila, Rasmus Schuller, Glen Kamara; Joel Pohjanpalo, Teemu Pukki.
Subs: Steve Mandanda, Nordi Mukiele, Aurelien Tchouameni, Moussa Diaby, Clement Lenglet, Matteo Guendouzi, Jordan Veretout, Mike Maignan, Wissam Ben Yedder, Thomas Lemar, Lucas Digne.
FRANCE (3-4-3): Hugo Lloris; Kurt Zouma, Raphael Varane, Presnel Kimpembe; Leo Dubois, Paul Pogba, Adrien Rabiot, Theo Hernandez; Anthony Martial, Antoine Griezmann, Karim Benzema.
Finland conversely start less than a handful of players who ply their trade in Europe’s top five leagues – but in Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, they do have a man who could make life difficult for their hosts today in Lyon.
On paper, it’s no contest when it comes to quality. While the red card handed out to Jules Kounde against Bosnia means he is absent, it is still a formidable side fielded by Les Bleus, led by Antoine Griezmann up front as the striker begins his second life with Atletico Madrid.
Even if they remain top of the pile, the fact they have not won a game since their first match of this summer’s tournament will give Markku Kanerva hopes of an upset. His side are in the frame to cause some problems here if they pull off an upset – but it will be a fantastic result if they do.
It’s become a common occurrence for the incumbent World Cup holder to slip out early in their subsequent tournament – and Didier Deschamps will surely have his concerns here too. After a lacklustre Euro 2020, his side have won just two of their five Group D games so far. Are alarm bells ringing?
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the September international break as defending champions France host Finland in a Qatar 2022 World Cup UEFA qualifier, Parc Olympique Lyonnais.
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