Argentina vs France Prediction (18.12.2022)

On Sunday afternoon, two giants of world football, Argentina and France, meet in the World Cup final.

Didier Deschamps’ team are in their second straight World Cup final, having been crowned as world champions in Russia four and a half years ago. Les Blues have arguably not been at their best in Qatar, but moments of quality have taken them through to the final.

Having seen off England 2-1 in the quarter-finals, the reigning champions defeated Morocco 2-0 in the last four to book their place in the final. The win over the Lions of Atlas means that France has now won nine of their last ten World Cup matches.

One man that has played a key role for France at World Cup 2022 is PSG star Kylian Mbappe, who has scored five goals and produced two assists.

The Albicelestes will feature in their fifth World Cup final after a pretty comfortable 3-0 win over Croatia in the semi-final. Star player Lionel Messi again played a key role, scoring once and playing a part in his team's other two goals. The veteran forward is vying with PSG clubmate Mbappe for the Golden Boot, as he has also scored five goals at World Cup 2022.

Argentina is unbeaten in five World Cup matches, having recorded four wins in 90 minutes and one penalty kick victory over the Netherlands.

A key to the South American’s recent good record has been their attacking threat, as Lionel Scaloni’s team has scored at least two goals in their last five matches at the World Cup.

Full-backs Marcos Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel are available again after serving one-match suspensions against Croatia. Acuna is likely to return to the starting line-up in place of Nicolas Tagliafico.

For France, Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano missed the semi-final through the flu. However, both players are expected to be fit enough to return for this massive clash.

Lionel Messi has been the driving force in Argentina making the final. However, France has developed a knack for winning games without playing brilliantly. If they stop Messi, then I can see Les Bleus recording a narrow and hard-fought win.