The penultimate round of group games in European qualifying for the World Cup gets underway on Thursday.France, Norway and Portugal are among the teams who could seal their places at next summer’s tournament in North America and that trio are tipped to come out on top in their respective fixtures.BET £10 AND GET £30 IN FREE BETS WITH TALKSPORT BETThursday’s football betting tipsBet of the dayFrance to win and both teams to score @ 9/4France’s 2-2 draw in Iceland in October kept Group D alive.Les Bleus are already guaranteed a play-off place through their Nations League exploits but Thursday’s visitors, Ukraine, could still pip them to top spot in the pool.Didier Deschamps’ side won 2-0 when the teams met in Wroclaw in September, but conceded in both games against Iceland, either side of a 3-0 win against Azerbaijan.The Blue and Yellow’s last three games have all seen both sides score and with eight goals in that time, they are capable of finding the net for at least a ninth time at the Parc Des Princes.France’s quality means they should win, but they continue to lack rhythm as Deschamps attempts to mould his best players into a cohesive unit.Thursday’s visitors can exploit that, albeit in defeat, a result that would seal the hosts’ qualification.Special of the dayNorway to beat Estonia to nil, over 5.5 goals and Erling Haaland to score @ 19/5Norway’s goal difference means a win over Estonia on Thursday will all but guarantee their place at a World Cup for the first time since 1998.Their final qualifier is against Italy in Milan, but they go into the penultimate round of fixtures three points ahead of the Azzurri and with a +16 advantage in the goal difference column.They only beat Estonia 1-0 when the duo met in June, but have since defeated Moldova 11-1 and Israel 5-1.Another case of over 5.5 goals is plausible in Oslo on Thursday, and Estonia’s seven goals from seven qualifiers hint at a fifth Group I win to nil for Landslaget.At the forefront is likely to be Erling Haaland, who has netted 12 goals in qualifying, five more than his nearest rival, Memphis Depay of the Netherlands.After scoring the winner in Tallinn, Jurgen Henn’s side are unlikely to keep him at bay.Long shot of the dayPortugal to beat Republic of Ireland 1-0 @ 11/2Portugal needed a late goal from Ruben Neves last month to beat Republic of Ireland in Lisbon and should succeed again in Dublin on Thursday.The Irish have failed to score in the last three meetings between these countries and only just outlasted Armenia 1-0 in October.Heimir Hallgrimsson is expected to set his side up to sit deep and try to hold out, although there is the possibility that they could receive a significant psychological blow pre-kick-off.Portugal are top of Group F and they know a win will guarantee top spot. Hungary are on five points and can move to eight by beating Armenia at 5pm on Thursday.That would leave Ireland in a challenging position of being four points behind the Magyars with a trip to Budapest to come on Sunday. The Selecao are the favourites, but could again come close to being frustrated at the Aviva. However, their attacking talent means a repeat 1-0 victory looks like a value play.BET £10 AND GET £30 IN FREE BETS WITH TALKSPORT BETOdds correct at time of publish and subject to change*T&Cs: 18+ New customers only. Opt in via mobile or app & bet £10+ on any football market at 2.00+ odds within 7 days. No Cash out. Get 6x £5 Free Bets on selected markets. Free bets expire in 7 days. T&Cs apply, see below. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsiblyRemember to gamble responsiblyA responsible gambler is someone who:Establishes time and monetary limits before playingOnly gambles with money they can afford to loseNever chase their lossesDoesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressedGamCare – www.gamcare.org.ukGamble Aware – www.gambleaware.orgFor help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to talkSPORT. 18+. T&Cs apply. gambleaware.org