World Cup

[monks data]

World Cup | Final

Dec 18, 2022 at 3pm UK

Lusail Iconic Stadium

Argentina
3 - 3
France

Messi (23' pen., 108'), di Maria (36')
Fernandez (45+7'), Acuna (90+8'), Paredes (114'), Montiel (116'), Martinez (126')

FT
(aet)

Mbappe (80' pen., 81', 118' pen.)
Rabiot (55'), Thuram (87'), Giroud (90+5')

Argentina win 4-2 on penalties

World Cup 2022: Reasons for Argentina to be confident of beating France

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter

Published: December 17 2022 | 15:14

Last updated: December 17 2022 | 17:11

Ahead of Sunday's World Cup final between Argentina and France, Sports Mole looks at three reasons for Lionel Scaloni's side to be confident of clinching the trophy.

A third World Cup crown is within touching distance for Argentina, who pit their wits against holders France in Sunday's final at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.

La Albiceleste booked their place in the showpiece event for a sixth time after seeing off Croatia 3-0 in the semi-finals, with Lionel Messi crashing home from the spot before Julian Alvarez made the net ripple twice.

The 1978 and 1986 champions are desperately seeking to give Messi the World Cup farewell that he deserves, and several factors are already working in Argentina's favour as they seek to dethrone the reigning champions.

Here, Sports Mole picks out three reasons for Argentina to be confident of overcoming France and marching to international glory.

The Bleus bug

Raphael Varane in action for France on December 14, 2022 © Reuters

There is never an ideal time for sportspeople to fall ill during the competitive season, but witnessing a virus decimate your squad only 48 hours before the World Cup final is nothing short of nightmarish for Didier Deschamps.

A total of five France players have fallen victim to flu-like symptoms - apparently brought on by the constant air conditioning in Qatar - with Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano both forced to miss their semi-final success over Morocco.

The pair have since returned to training and are expected to play a part on Sunday, but Kingsley Coman is now under the weather alongside Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konate, who paired up at the back in the semi-finals.

Deschamps is supposedly optimistic that he will still have everyone available for the weekend, but Coman, Varane and Konate missed a crucial training session on Friday and may not be at 100% as their immune systems work overtime.

Les Bleus could therefore be forced to call upon William Saliba and/or Axel Disasi, who have been wholly impressive at club level this term, but any defensive absentees will be felt to the extreme for a side who only have one clean sheet to boast all tournament long.

Consistently clinical

Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates their third goal on December 13, 2022 © Reuters

Since being restricted to just the one goal against an inspired Saudi Arabia side on matchday one, Argentina have scored at least twice in each of their five subsequent World Cup matches, which spells more danger for a ravaged France backline.

Lionel Scaloni's side have come up with a pair of strikes in their meetings with Mexico, Poland, the Netherlands and Australia, and they clinically hit Croatia for three in the semi-finals thanks to their timeless veteran and an up-and-coming star.

Messi's five goals sees him lead the way at the top of the Golden Boot charts alongside Kylian Mbappe, and the 35-year-old could earn yet another slice of history as the first player to score in the group stage, last 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final of a single World Cup.

The Paris Saint-Germain's attacker's three assists have also been gold dust for his teammates, including Alvarez, who has struck four goals of his own in Qatar after struggling to earn regular starts at Manchester City, while Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez possess quite the goal threat too.

Head-to-head supremacy

The Benjamin Pavard wonder strike and crushed Albiceleste hearts were the themes of Argentina and France's most recent showdown, which ended in a 4-3 victory for Les Bleus during the last-16 stage of the 2018 World Cup.

However, that seven-goal success is one of only three wins that France can boast in their previous 12 meetings with Argentina, who have otherwise held the Europeans to three draws while also winning six themselves, including two at the World Cup.

The South American champions prevailed 1-0 at the 1930 edition before a 2-1 success at the 1978 tournament, and they have impressively managed to keep seven clean sheets in their 12 previous encounters with the World Cup holders.

La Albiceleste have also failed to score in just one of their last five meetings with France and are aiming to continue a positive trend for South American nations, who have won seven of their 10 World Cup finals against European teams, although Argentina did come up short on two of those other three occasions.