France midfielder Paul Pogba. (Photo : Getty Images)
Lowly team Belarus is set to face one of Europe's top teams, France, in the opening game of their 2018 FIFA World Cup UEFA qualifying tournament campaign at the Borisov Arena in Barysaw on Tuesday, Sep. 6.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 9:45 p.m. UTC+3. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.
Belarus, ranked 70th in the world by FIFA, was not able to qualify in this summer's European Championship and had settled for friendly matches throughout the year to prepare themselves for his UEFA World Cup qualifiers. In five friendlies this year, head coach Alyaksandr Khatskevich's side compiled a decent 2-1-2 win-loss-draw record.
The White Wings' last pre-tournament warmup game was held in Wednesday last week against Norway at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, ending in a 1-0 win for the visitors, as per Soccerway.
Midfielder Sergey Krivets scored the winning goal in the exhibition match at the 56th minute off an assist from teammate Mikhail Gordeichuk. It was the second win of the year for the squad after pulling off goalless draws against Armenia and Montenegro in March, losing 0-3 to Northern Ireland in May, and nipping Republic of Ireland, 2-1, in June.
Meanwhile, France remains to be one of the superpowers of the sport not only in Europe but even in the global scene. The national team is currently ranked seventh in the world by FIFA and their second-place finish in the recent Euros is a testament to their strength.
Head coach Didier Deschamps boasts off some of the top football names in the world right now, headed by current world-record transfer holder Paul Pogba of Manchester United. The French team also has superior goalscorer Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid, Pogba's United teammate Anthony Martial, and Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud up front on the attack.
Midfielders N'Golo Kanté and Blaise Matuidi are ideal complements for Pogba in the middle while the backfield is composed of also big club names in Europe, namely Real Madrid's Raphael Varane, Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny, Monaco's Djibril Sidibe, and Paris Saint-Germain's Layvin Kurzawa.
Les Bleus is coming off a 3-1 friendly victory over fellow European powerhouse Italy last Thursday at the Stadio Comunale San Nicola in Bari as their warmup before this opener against Belarus, via the Mirror.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a 3-0 romp by France.
Belarus starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Harbunow; Shitov, Martynovich, Sivakow, Palyakow; Mayewski, Kislyak; Kalachev, Gordeichuk, Valadzko; Signevich
France starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Mandanda; Sidibe, Varane, Koscielny, Kurzawa; Pogba, Kanté, Matuidi; Griezmann, Giroud, Martial
