Broadcast info
Who's playing: France will be looking to rebound after a surprise scoreless draw with lowly Belarus by picking up all three points against Bulgaria this Friday.
What time: Friday, October 7th at 11:45 PST/14:45 EST/18:45 UTC/19:45 BST/20:45 CET
What stadium: This game will be played at the Stade de France, which serves as the French national team's main venue and has a max capacity of 81,338 fans.
Which channel:
- In the USA: ESPN3 USA, WatchESPN, ESPN Deportes+ USA
- In France: TF1
- In Bulgaria: BNT HD, BNT 1
- In the UK: Sky Go UK, SKY GO Extra, NOW TV UK, Sky Sports 4/HD UK
- In Canada: Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet 360
*View up-to-date broadcast listings
Match facts and other historical stats
- France are presently ranked 8th, whilst Bulgaria sit in 74th
- Les Bleus have faced the Bulgarians nine times in World Cup qualifiers
- The hosts surprisingly have won just three times, whilst Bulgaria have managed to win five and draw once
Team news
France
France come into this game having failed to make the grade against Belarus. Les Bleus were expected to dispatch the Eastern European minnows with ease. Shockingly, they were instead held to a scoreless stalemate by their opponents, who predictably played all their men behind the ball. France's profligacy came back to haunt them big time - especially with players like Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba, and the often maligned Olivier Giroud - all missing golden opportunities to put the game to bed and pick up what should have been a straightforward three points.
In terms of personnel, Giroud is among those not selected for this upcoming clash. Curiously enough, despite the Arsenal man missing out, Andre Pierre Gignac, who plays his club football in the Mexican league, was still included among the strikers, whilst Real Madrid's Karim Benzema is still in exile following some legal problems earlier this season. Other notable absentees for Didier Deschamps's side include Geoffrey Kondogbia, Samuel Umtiti (injury), and Adil Rami, whilst there is no room for Borussia Dortmund youngster Ousmane Dembélé. Among the players hoping to receive their first caps will include Alphonse Areola, Presnel Kimpembe, and Aymeric Laporte.
Bulgaria
As for the Bulgarians, they arrive in France sitting on top of their table. However, their first match was against Luxembourg, a team unfortunately expected to be the group's punching bag. Furthermore, Luxembourg, despite losing, put in an impressive performance by scoring three goals and were very unlucky to end up without a point - especially considering that they were literally minutes away from what would have been a well-deserved draw.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
