World Cup
2022-12-18 - Argentina vs France
A Sports Betting Pick by ArmchairPunter
Football : World Cup : World Cup Final
Venue : Lusail Stadium
Sunday 18th December 2022, 1500hrs
After almost a month of entertaining and enthralling football at the highest level, it all comes down to Sunday afternoon and this World Cup final between two heavyweights on the international stage as Argentina take on France at the Lusail Stadium for the right to become the champions of the world.
Argentina will be aiming to collect a third World Cup title after lifting the trophy in 1978 and most recently, in 1986, while France will be bidding to make it back to back World Cups which has only been done once before - Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
This is likely to be Lionel Messi’s final chance at a World Cup final win which is the only remaining trophy yet to be achieved by the Argentinian master and having guided his side to five wins on the trot to reach this upcoming final, he and Argentina will be in confident mood ahead of Sunday afternoon.
After a disappointing start to the tournament which saw Argentina being handed a surprise 2-1 loss by Saudi Arabia, Lionel Scalloni’s side found themselves playing catch-up with each of their subsequent five games thereafter seeming to be more like knock-out games as no further losses could be contemplated.
Victories over Mexico, Poland, Australia, Netherlands and Croatia, the latter being the most comprehensive and decisive win, have seen La Albiceleste progress to Sunday’s final where they’ll be up against the current World Cup title holders, France.
France have progressed through to a second World Cup final on the trot after seeing off a spirited Moroccan outfit in Wednesday night’s semi-final where the underdogs became the first African nation to reach the final four in World Cup history.
One could say France rode their luck again at times against Morocco but Les Bleus ran out 2-0 winners on the night and maintained their ability to ‘win ugly’ at the right stage of a major tournament with manager, Didier Deschamps once again proving he’s amongst one of the best coaches in the world.
France also suffered an early hiccup in the group stage as they were handed what seemed an unlikely 1-0 defeat to Tunisia but it must be noted that Deschamps made no fewer than nine changes in his starting line-up as he took the chance of resting several key players.
Nevertheless, France have now won five of their last six matches as well in this World Cup but unlike Argentina, Les Bleus have not needed extra time nor penalties to reach this upcoming final, disposing of the likes of Australia, Denmark, Poland, England and Morocco respectively.
France also perhaps hold a slight edge psychologically over Argentina as they recorded a 4-3 victory over La Albiceleste in the previous World Cup and they may well come out on top once again this time around too - Messi or no Messi.
The Betting Verdict
Argentina have suffered just one loss in their last 42 matches across all competitions which is a staggering and impressive record indeed, while France have made it to back to back World Cup finals which is no mean feat and Les Bleus know how to win on the biggest stage of all.
One of the sub-plots of this upcoming final is a shoot-out for the Golden Boot as both Messi and Mbappe are level on 5 goals apiece while the likes of Alvarez and Giroud both find themselves on 4 goals each, so not only the trophy is up for grabs, but also the coveted Golden Boot.
This is likely to be a tight and cagey affair with neither side wanting to take too many risks early on, so a low-scoring encounter could well unfold here with perhaps the scores level at the end of 90 minutes, but France are my choice for the winners podium after all said and done.
The Pick :
Argentina 1-1 France
