France, after taking a tortuous route to the FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil, will look for a more serene passage into the knockout rounds starting with a victory over Honduras in their Group E match in Porto Allegre.
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The Group E match is scheduled for a 4 pm local time (12.30 am IST, 8 pm BST, 3 pm ET) start with live coverage on Sony Six and Sony Six HD in India. The game can also be watched via live streaming online HERE in India. Catch the action in the UK on ITV and BBC with the live streaming option HERE or HERE. US viewers can watch the game on ESPN while you can also live stream the action HERE. Australia viewers click HERE to watch the game online, while South Africa viewers can catch the match HERE.
Didier Deschamps' men are expected to ease through as group toppers, with the other two teams being Switzerland and Ecuador. However, as Uruguay found out to their detriment on Saturday, there is no such thing as an easy game, or indeed an easy group, in the World Cup.
"We have prepared the best way possible," Deschamps said. "With the friendlies we played, the training sessions, everything for this match. But it's what we'll do tomorrow that matters.
"We won't change anything now, or get more anxious just because the match is just around the corner."
France are expecting a tough physical encounter against Honduras, who gave England a bruising battle in a pre-World Cup friendly. While Honduras are expected to finish at the bottom of the group, they will take heart from their fellow CONCACAF region side Costa Rica, who overwhelmed Uruguay in emphatic fashion.
"I congratulate Costa Rica and [their coach] Jorge [Luis Pinto]," Honduras coach Luis Suarez said on Saturday. "I am not surprised because I know how good a team Costa Rica are, but it doesn't change my thoughts for tomorrow at all. We are aware of our strengths are we want to show them."
Those strengths are thought to be getting under the skin of their opponents with a few robust challenges, but Suarez insisted there is much more to Honduras than just physicality.
"We played 16 games of qualifiers and had no red cards so that shows that we play within the rules," he added. "We play with a lot of determination and we are intense, but that is allowed and important in football.
"Our attitude is to face the games with character, with hunger, because we are looking as a team to achieve our goals. That is our attitude and I think that is a good thing."
Team news: France: Franck Ribery's absence will definitely be a big miss, and Deschamps will hope the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Loic Remy step up if asked to play out wide. Deschamps said he has already made up his mind about his starting lineup for the World Cup opener, with the coach likely to go for the 4-3-3 formation which has worked so well of late.
While Olivier Giroud and Karim Benzema showed they can play together in a recent friendly against Jamaica, Deschamps is unlikely to go with two strikers, with Benzema expected to get the nod over Giroud.
Honduras: Carlo Costly suffered an injury scare during training, but is expected to feature and should lineup up front with Jerry Bengtson.
Expected lineups: France: Lloris; Sagna, Koscielny, Sakho, Evra; Pogba, Cabaye, Matuidi; Valbuena, Benzema, Griezmann.
Honduras: Valladares; Beckeles, Bernandez, Figueroa, Izaguirre; Najar, Garrido, Palacios, Espinoza; Bengtson, Costly.
Prediction: 3-0 to France
