In Men’s Summer Olympics Group A soccer action Thursday, Mexico and France play in a 4 a.m. ET kickoff at Tokyo Stadium. Below, we preview the Mexico vs. France odds and lines, and make our best soccer bets, picks and predictions.
Mexico is a little at a disadvantage here, as the national team remains alive and well at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. So, this side is made up of mostly younger, prospect-type players. F Henry Martin, GK Guillermo Ochoa and MF Luis Romo do give El Tri a little bit of experience, too.
The senior team for France just completed EURO 2021, so stars like Mbappe are away from the squad. Experienced players like F Andre-Pierre Gignac and MF Florian Thauvin are in Tokyo, and 19-year-old striker Nathanael Mbuku is a future star.
Mexico vs. France: Odds, picks and predictions
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 7:40 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Mexico +333 (bet $100 to win $333) | France -115 (bet $115 to win $100) | Draw +220
- Over/Under: 2.5 (O: +110 | U: -155)
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Prediction
France 2, Mexico 0
Money line (ML)
FRANCE (-115) is the clear-cut favorite, and it has the offense to make quite a bit of noise up front. The defending World Cup champs might not have Mbappe, but the cupboard is anything but bare.
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Over/Under (O/U)
UNDER 2.5 (-155) is the “lean”, as Mexico, in particular, could get off to quite a slow start. France could strike for the opening score in the first half, then play a possession game the rest of the way. I am not expecting a lot from Mexico in this very difficult group.
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