Ukraine is not going to surprise France. Shevchenko is not going to surprise Mexes. Yarmolenko is not going to surprise Evra. Blokhin is not going to surprise Blanc. France hasn’t lost in 22 games. This will not be the first loss. I also don’t believe they can be comfortable with a draw as that would put too much pressure on their last game against Sweden.
This is going to be a more open game and France will have more space than they did against England. I respect Ukraine’s front three and Tymoshchuk did a great job in the holding midfield position. However, Ribery and Nasri will be too much for the Ukrainian defense. I would like to see Blanc be more aggressive and putting Ben Arfa in the starting lineup.
Pre-match prediction: Ukraine 1 France 2
Benzema and Ribery will score for France and Yarmolenko to reduce the margin for Ukraine.
CH12 (formerly Centerhalf12) 