Bookies across the country have been setting odds for the match. One of the top markets is for which player is most likely to score first, and we won’t have to wait much longer to find out how accurate they have been.
How the Bookies See it
- Germany: Thomas Muller 7/1, Andre Schurrle 9/1, Leroy Sane 11/1, Julian Draxler 12/1 – Paddy Power
- France: Olivier Giroud 11/2, Antoine Griezmann 13/2, Andre-Pierre Gignac 13/2, Dimitri Payet 15/2 – William Hill
- No Goalscorer: 7/1 – William Hill
Form
- Thomas Muller has yet to score in the Euro 2016 tournament, but he was instrumental in setting up the goal that was scored by Mario Gomez against Northern Ireland on Tuesday 21st June.
- Andre Schurrle has made three appearances, but is yet to get on the scoresheet. Julian Draxler has played four of Germany's five Euro 2016 games thus far, finding the net against Slovakia in the last 16. Leroy Sane is yet to make it on to the pitch this summer.
- Olivier Giroud has scored three goals for France in four games, scoring the first goal in their match against Romania and repeating the feat in their latest match against Iceland.
- Antoine Griezmann has had an excellent Euro 2016, scoring four goals from five games.
- Dimitri Payet has scored three goals for France, having participated in five games. Two of those goals were scored in the last few minutes of the matches against Romania and Albania.
Sports.net’s View
The absence of several key players in the German team, including Mario Gomez, means that Thomas Muller is still a likely goalscorer for the team despite his lack of goals thus far. He has been asked about his Euro 2016 ‘goal drought’ by the media on several occasions, but hasn’t been fazed by that, maintaining that he has no ‘goal target’ to aim for.
Whether that relaxed attitude will improve Muller’s chances of scoring, we can’t say, but it isn’t the kind of attitude that we would like to bet on. Given their lack of goals in previous matches, we’re also reluctant to select any of the other favourites from the German team to score the first goal in this game.
That means we will look to France to draw first blood, and it could come from Giroud, Griezmann or Payet. We will opt for Giroud, who has been first goalscorer in two of the four games he has played in, and could well make it three from five on Thursday.
- Sports.net’s Top Tip: Olivier Giroud to be first goalscorer - 11/2 at William Hill
*Please note, odds may change as the game approaches.