Argentina’s Run of Form
Argentina was among the favourites to win the World Cup before any of the games had been played. The team was drawn into Group C, where they had to play against Poland, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. The Argentine team was given a major upset in their first game when they lost to Saudi Arabia. They picked themselves up for the game against Mexico, which they won 2-0. In their last group game, Argentina beat Poland 2-0, securing the top place in Group C.
In the round of 16, Argentina had to play against the runners up of Group D, which was Australia. They beat Australia 2-1 and then had to face the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. It was a tough game, as numerous yellow cards were given out to players on both the Argentina and Netherlands' team. Argentina was leading 2-0 until the Netherlands scored 2 late goals, and the game ended 2-2. Neither team took the lead in the two halves of extra time and so the match was determined by a penalty shootout. Argentina won the shootout, and then progressed to the semi-finals. There, Argentina had to play against Croatia, who had just come off a shock victory against Brazil. There were many questions about whether Argentina had what it took to beat Croatia, but the team answered their critics with a comfortable 3-0 win.
France’s Run of Form
France won the World Cup in 2018, and so when the team entered this World Cup, they were one of the favourites to win the title. Many of the players were part of the winning team in 2018, with the exception of Paul Pogba, and N'Golo Kante, who were both injured before this World Cup had started.
This did not affect the French team in the way most critics would have thought, as they had an excellent start to their World Cup campaign. France was drawn into Group D, where they had to play against Australia, Denmark, and Tunisia. In their first game, they played against Australia, and France ran out a comfortable 4-1 win. In their next game, they had to play against their toughest opponents in the group, Denmark. With a brilliant individual performance from Kylian Mbappe, France won the game 2-1. After that win, France secured 6 points and had already qualified for the knockout stage. For its final group stage game, the French manager Didier Deschamps rested a few of the major French players, but the gamble did not pay off as France lost to Tunisia 1-0.
The loss in the final group stage game did not affect their position in the group, and the French team won Group D. In the round of 16, France had to play against Poland, the runners up of Group C. Poland did not give the French team much trouble, and France won the game 3-1. In the quarterfinals, France had to play against England. This was a tough fixture, as both teams were filled with great players, and the result could have gone either way. France took the lead and held on until England was awarded a penalty, which they scored. France took the lead once more, but England was awarded a second penalty. England missed the penalty, and the French kept defending until the final whistle was blown. France won the game 2-1, and so they progressed to the semi-finals, where they had to play against Morocco.
Morocco had beaten some major teams in the tournament, such as Portugal, Spain, and Belgium. The French team knew they had to be careful against Morocco, and they quickly asserted their dominance by scoring in the 5th minute. Morocco tried to equalise, but the French kept the score 1-0 until the 79th minute, when they extended their lead to 2. The game ended 2-0 and France reached the World Cup final, for the second time in a row.
Players to Look Out For
Argentina
Lionel Messi has shone in this World Cup, scoring 5 goals for Argentina. He is the most dangerous player in the team and is key to launching attacks and increasing the tempo when Argentina is going forwards. Julian Alvarez, a young striker who plays for Manchester City, has had a highly impressive solo campaign in the World Cup. He has taken the place of Lautaro Martinez, becoming Messi’s reliable striking partner, and has scored 4 goals in the tournament so far. This attacking duo has been a joy to watch up until now, and with players such as Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo De Paul, and Enzo Fernandes holding the midfield, they are not easy to defend against.
France
Argentina has a great striking duo but so does France, and coincidentally, the French striking partnership has also scored 9 goals altogether. Olivier Giroud became France’s all-time top goal scorer in this tournament, scoring 4 goals and putting his tally up to 53. Kylian Mbappe scored 5 goals in the World Cup, and he is one of the most valuable strikers in the world. Backed up by Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, and Adrien Rabiot, the French team will be a true challenge for Argentina’s defence.
Argentina vs France Betting Opportunities
You can place any of the standard bets on the World Cup final, such as match bet, handicaps, correct score, total goals, among others, but there are also plenty of bets that single out certain details during a game.
For example, you can bet on which of the teams will score the opening goal, will either France or Argentina score in both halves, which team will score the last goal, which half will be the highest scoring, which team will win the most corners, and many similar types of bet.
Some of the most exciting bets will be in the player category. Here, you can check the odds on any of the players to score during a match. You can bet on Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez, Leandro Paredes, Kylian Mbappe Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, or any other player to score during the match. Keeping in mind that 4 of those players have a possibility of becoming the tournament’s top goal scorer so the stakes couldn’t be higher.