The showpiece of the Qatar 2022 World Cup takes place on Sunday and we have a look at the final between Argentina and France from a betting angle.
Bookmakers cannot separate these sides and they are both trading at 10/11 to lift the trophy heading into the final. Other long-term markets of interest sees Lionel Messi trading as 1/5 favourite for the Player of the Tournament (Golden Ball) and you can click here for all of the long-term World Cup markets.
ARGENTINA
Argentina overcame a sluggish start to beat Croatia 3-0 in their semi-final on Tuesday. Lionel Messi opened the scoring with a 34th minute penalty and Julian Alvarez doubled the lead in the 39th minute and then put the match beyond doubt in the 69th.
Argentina have come a long way since their opening 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia which they followed up with victories over Mexico and Poland to book their spot in the last 16. Their last 16 opponents were Australia who they beat 2-1 and they then required penalties against the Netherlands after letting a 2 goal lead slip in the quarter-finals.
FRANCE
France beat Morocco 2-0 in their semi-final on Wednesday and it was certainly not as straight forward as the score line might suggest. They went ahead as early as the 5th minute through a Fernandez strike, but it was only in the 79th minute when substitute Kolo scored that they really put the game to bed. Morocco dominated for long periods of the game with wave after wave of attack coming down in the French area, but credit to France whose defence was absolutely superb and in the end they were deserved winners.
France made a much quicker start to the group stages with victories over Australia and Denmark before a loss to Tunisia in their final match where they gave a number of their fringe players a run. Thy faced Poland in the last 16 winning 3-1 and then beat England 2-1 in a dramatic quarter-final where England missed a late penalty to level the scores.
France’s semi-final against Morocco was the first game in the tournament that they haven’t conceded a goal.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
These sides met in the World Cup in 2018 with France winning a thriller 4-3.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Argentina 37/20
Draw 2/1
France 18/10
Suggested Bet: Over 2.5 goals at 11/8
There is always a chance that a final can be a cagey affair, but both of these teams have dangerous weapons capable of scoring and a goal in the first-half will certainly open things up. I am actually expecting quite an open final and at current odds can’t resist the bet that we get three goals or more.
Looking at some of the other markets on offer, Lionel Messi is 9/2 favourite to score the first goal with his rival for Top Goal Scorer, Kylian Mbappe a 5/1 shot and there are plenty of other betting markets available on the game.
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
