Wales vs France
Hot on the heels of an impressive win over England, Women’s Euro 2025 hopefuls France now have another UK nation in their sights as Wales appear on the horizon.
Les Bleues beat England 2-1 in their Group D opener while Wales lost 3-0 to the Netherlands and France coach Laurent Bonadei will have his team primed to show no mercy when they meet the Welsh. The Women’s Euros 2025 betting odds say Spain are the team to beat while Germany are looking good too; but at first sight Les Bleues are very serious contenders.
Rhian Wilkinson’s Wales made their Euros debut last week and they suffered a chastening 90 minutes at the hands of the Dutch, and I fear the Dragons are likely to be slain again when they meet the ruthless French at the Kybunpark in St Gallen on Wednesday.
Talking Points
France attack with venom
Les Bleues’ clash with England was billed as a contest between the likely top two of Group D and there was a pretty clear outcome as France dominated the Lionesses for much of the game; hitting them twice with fast transitions and lethal attacks. Bonadei’s side defended comfortably as England huffed and puffed in the early stages, and then blew their opponents away in four whirlwind minutes just before the half-time break. The fleet-footed winger Delphine Cascarino caused havoc in the England defence as she raced to the byline and delivered a pinpoint ball for Marie-Antoinette Katoto to convert. The 26-year-old Lyon striker has scored 39 goals in 56 games for Les Bleues and is a decent bet for the Golden Boot, while Cascarino deservedly won the Player of the Match award.
Three minutes later Chelsea forward Sandy Baltimore seized on some sloppy defending to double the lead and effectively win the game for France, and though England scored a late consolation this was a relatively comfortable opening for Les Bleues.
Newcomers Wales are finding life tough
The 2025 Euros see Wales competing among the elite for the very first time and they could hardly have been in a tougher group, among three of Europe’s more established teams. First up the Dragons were pitched against the 2017 champions from the Netherlands and they understandably looked nervous in the opening exchanges, but they battled hard and held out, almost until half time, until the legendary Vivianne Miedema scored her 100th international goal with a sublime finish.
That goal seemed to take the wind out of Wales and early in the second half they were pretty much finished when Danielle van de Donk ran in behind and centred for an unmarked Victoria Pelova to tap home from six yards. As the Netherlands smelled blood the woodwork three times came to Wales’ rescue, but Esmee Brugts was first to react to one rebound and, at 3-0 the game was well and truly over.
Wales never stopped fighting and they had their moments in attack as Crystal Palace wingback Lily Woodman constantly tried to find a way to open up the Netherlands, sending over one dangerous cross but there was no one their to meet it. Both Josie Green and Woodman had shots on goal but, overall, Wilkinson’s girls were outclassed by a solid Netherlands side. The hammering did little to dampen the spirits of the passionate hordes of Wales’ fans though, and they will be there again to cheer their team on against Les Bleues.
The brave Dragons will need all the help they can get!
History
These two teams have met four times previously, and France have won every one of those encounters, edging a three goal meeting in 2022 last time they met Wales.
In terms of 2025 form France have won their last eight games while Wales are without a victory in seven outings and, with a 20 place gap in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings; Les Bleues are tenth and the Dragons are 30th, I expect both trends to continue.
Betting Tip
At SBOTOP odds of 1.02 Les Bleus are red hot favourites to blow the Dragons away, and even the most ardent Wales fan must see a win as potentially the biggest of all the Women’s Euros results in this competition, to date and probably until the tournament is over. But at odds of 24.04 maybe the reward might be tempting, while the draw at 7.91 is still a long shot.
And if you are looking for a correct score-line, a 3-0 win is the most likely result at odds of 4.84, while a 4-0 drubbing is at 5.70.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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