France vs Ukraine live stream, prediction, team news, World Cup European Qualifiers live

World champions France will face off against Ukraine in the first of their three World Cup qualifying matches of the current international break. The match will be played at the Stade de France and will begin at 1:15 AM IST on Thursday, March 25. Here's a look at where to watch France vs Ukraine live stream, team news, and our prediction for the same. 

France vs Ukraine prediction and preview 

It has been a while since the world champions took the field but France will look to continue their good form of 2020, where they were unbeaten across six games, with a shock draw against Finland being the only blemish in their record. Les Blues have one of the strongest squads on paper and will be hoping to become just the third team to retain the World Cup in Qatar next year. Didier Deschamps is unlikely to change the winning formula, and with Kylian Mbappe growing from strength to strength as he reaches his peak years, France will fancy their chances against any opponent on any given day. France have not failed to make the finals since 1994, and Les Blues will be hoping to seal qualification without much fuss and work out their plans for the upcoming Euros and the Nations League semi-finals when they take the field. 

As for Ukraine, Andriy Shevchenko's side had a forgetful last international break, where they lost all three of their fixtures. Ukraine were relegated down to League B after succumbing to a 3-0 defeat in their final game to Switzerland, and the manner of their recent performances puts their backs against the wall against opposition like France. Shevchenko will look to draw inspiration from his side's 1-0 win over Spain back in October, as each point will matter in the race for World Cup qualification. Ukraine have only qualified for the World Cup once as an independent nation since 1994 and will face stiff competition from Finland and Bosnia-Herzegovina for a runner up spot in Group D. 

France vs Ukraine team news

Didier Deschamps issued a statement of intent when he picked no uncapped players in the squad for the qualifiers. Alphonse Areola was recalled after his impressive performances for Fulham, although Hugo Lloris is likely to be No. 1 for all the games. Kylian Mbappe was taken off against Lyon due to a minor problem, and the 22-year-old could be rested for the opener with Anthony Martial coming into the side. Andriy Shevchenko has multiple injuries to deal with in his squad, which saw Viktor Tsygankov and Taras Stepanenko failing to make the cut. West Ham's Andriy Yarmolenko was named despite injury but is unlikely to feature against France. 

France vs Ukraine team news: Predicted starting line-ups 

• France: Lloris; Pavard, Varane, Kimpembe, Hernandez; Kante, Pogba, Ndombele; Griezmann; Martial, Giroud
• Ukraine: Pyatov; Karavaev, Matvienko, Kryvtsov, Sobol; Sydorchuk, Zinchenko, Malinovskyi; Marlos, Yaremchuk, Konoplyanka

World Cup European Qualifiers live stream: Where to watch France vs Ukraine live?

Sony Sports Network are the official broadcasters of the European Qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in India. The France vs Ukraine live stream will be provided on Sony LIV App, while the live scores and latest match developments of the game will be updated regularly on the social media pages of the two teams. The World Cup European Qualifiers live stream will begin at 1:15 AM IST on Thursday, March 25. 

(Image Courtesy: French Team Twitter)