Austria v France predictions: Les Bleus can edge high-scoring clash

Kick-off time: Monday 17 June, 20:00, Dusseldorf

Didier Deschamps has led France to the final of three of the last four major tournaments and Les Bleus appear to have a great chance of glory at Euro 2024.

Deschamps captained France to victory at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 before lifting the World Cup as manager in 2018.

His side were beaten on penalties by Argentina after a thrilling 3-3 draw in the 2022 World Cup final and suffered a shock extra-time defeat to Portugal in the Euro 2016 final.

There are few weaknesses in the France squad, with Real Madrid-bound superstar Kylian Mbappe and record goalscorer Olivier Giroud spearheading the attack.

Antoine Griezmann, player of the tournament at Euro 2016, has sparkled as a midfield playmaker for the national team and had an excellent season for Atletico Madrid.

N'Golo Kante earned a surprise recall to the squad but Deschamps also has some exciting young players at his disposal including Arsenal centre-back William Saliba, Real Madrid midfielders Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga and PSG starlet Warren Zaire-Emery.

The France coach has been criticised for an overly cautious approach but their games at the 2022 World Cup were entertaining affairs and the opening fixture against Austria should be lively.

Both teams scored in four of France's five wins in Qatar, including their 2-1 quarter-final success against England, and they beat Croatia 4-2 in the 2018 final so backing Les Bleus to win and both teams to find the net looks a good bet.

Les Bleus responded well to their shootout defeat to Argentina, thumping the Netherlands 4-0 in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier.

They went on to top the group, scoring 29 goals in eight matches, and their forwards should be too sharp for an Austria defence missing injured captain David Alaba.

Austria coach Ralf Rangnick has a squad packed with players from top Bundesliga clubs and his side looks particularly strong in midfield.

Marcel Sabitzer starred for Borussia Dortmund on their run to the Champions League final while Bayern Munich's Konrad Laimer and Leipzig's Christoph Baumgartner are also classy operators.

Austria won six of their eight matches in qualifying, finishing just a point behind Belgium, and they have had some promising friendly results under former Manchester United interim manager Rangnick.

They beat ten-man Germany 2-0 in November and hammered Turkey 6-1 in March when Freiburg forward Michael Gregoritsch scored a hat-trick.

The Austrians warmed up for the Euros with a 2-1 win over Serbia and a 1-1 draw with Switzerland and their three goals in those friendlies came in the tenth, 13th and fifth minutes.

That suggests Austria should be backed to start strongly against France, who had to come from 1-0 down to beat Australia in their 2022 World Cup opener.

The draw-France double result appeals as the second selection as Deschamps has a host of potential game-changers on the bench.

Players such as Marcus Thuram, Kingsley Coman, Bradley Barcola and Randal Kolo Muani – who forced Emi Martinez into an excellent save in the 123rd minute of the World Cup final – could be dangerous substitutes at this tournament and France should come out on top in a high-scoring game on matchday one.