Football Previews
The quarter-finals of the 2013 FIFA under 20 World Cup begin this Saturday afternoon with France under 20’s meeting Uzbekistan under 20’s at the Yeni Rize Sehir Stadi in Rize.
France finished second in Group A behind Spain after winning 3:1 against Ghana in their opening match, drawing 1:1 with USA and losing 2:1 to Spain in their last group game.
Uzebkistan finished 3rd in Group F. They defeated New Zealand 3:0, forced a 1:1 draw against Croatia before losing 4:0 to Uruguay in their final group game.
Uzbekistan produced the shock of the last 16 by defeating Greece 3:1 however Greece were unlucky after referee Noumandiez Doue sent off Dimitrios Kourmpelis by mistaking him for another player.
France dominated Turkey 4:1 and their star player Paul Pogba looked different class running much of France’s attacking play.
Recent form:
France under 20’s – W L D W D W W
Uzbekistan under 20’s – W L D W L D L
France have lost one in seven, Uzbekistan have won just two in seven.
The quarter-finals draw looks like this:
Spain showed great fighting spirit coming from behind to defeat Mexico in the dying moments of their match. Uruguay were able to overcome Nigeria 2:1. Spain vs Uruguay takes place on Saturday evening at 19:00 CET.
Iraq continue to surprise after they won 1:0 in extra time against Paraguay. South Korea defeated Colombia in penalties after Colombia leveled the game in normal time with the final kick of the ball. Iraq vs South Korea takes place on Sunday at 16:00 CET.
Ghana defeated Portugal 3:2 in a thrilling game that had four goals in the last 20 minutes. Chile won 2:0 against Croatia in a competitive game. Ghana vs Chile takes place on Sunday evening at 19:00 CET.
France and Uzbekistan have not met at under 20 level so there is no form to go on.
Bookmakers side massively with France after their impressive win over Turkey.
Current betting odds: France U20 (4/11) Draw (15/4) Uzbekistan U20 (15/2)
Gamingtips Prediction – France U20 5:1 Uzbekistan U20
France looked like a real tournament winning side against Turkey. Paul Pogba looked like a senior player who was helping the under 20’s side out for much of the game. We questioned whether or not they have what it takes to win a major tournament particularly after losing 2:1 to Spain and never looking like winning that game but they turned up against Turkey and if they can maintain that form, they have a real shot of winning the tournament.
Uzbekistan qualified by finishing third in Group F (scored more goals than other third placed teams). Their win over Greece looks comfortable on paper (3:1) however that result is very flattering. Greece looked a class above Uzbekistan for much of the game and dominated possession. Uzbekistan were able to counterattack and managed to win a couple of penalties but at times they looked very poor and although they defended reasonably well, they face a much tougher task against a French side who dominated over 60% of possession against Turkey.
Although France odds are short, it’s very difficult to see anything other than a comfortable win for France. This tournament has and continues to produce shock results but Uzbekistan may have run their race and if they are able to upset France, it will be one of the shocks of the tournament.
An alternative value bet is over 3.5 goals at odds of 13/8
This match gets underway at 16:00 CET and can be viewed live on Eurosport. Internationally listings will vary.
Alternatively you can keep up to date at the bottom of our livescores page
Please Gamble Responsibly