The 2022 World Cup semi-finals are over, with Argentina beating Croatia and France outplaying Morocco in the final four. On 18th December, the two international heavyweights will come up against each other to win football’s biggest prize. Fans cannot wait to watch the match live online but they will have to wait till Sunday.
No team is a clear favourite and the final is expected to be a very close contest. Both sides boast plenty of quality in their squads but all eyes will be on Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. The duo have scored five goals each and are leading the Golden Boot race.
Argentina
Argentina came into this World Cup with high expectations, with the South American side boasting a 36-game unbeaten run before their opening match in Qatar. However, they were stunned by Saudi Arabia who registered a spectacular 2-1 victory.
Messi and co. responded well to that setback as they comfortably defeated Mexico and Poland in their next two matches to progress to the knockouts. Australia didn’t offer a lot of resistance in the round of 16 but Netherlands took Lionel Scaloni’ side to the shootouts in the quarter-final where they ultimately prevailed.
La Albiceleste dominated against Croatia in the final four, with Messi once again at the top of his game. The 35-year-old scored from the spot before delivering a wonderful assist to help his side win 3-0.
France
Didier Deschamps’ side entered the 2022 World Cup as top favourites. They have brilliantly maintained that reputation in the tournament, with Les Bleus topping Group D before breezing past Poland in the round of 16.
England gave the defending champions a tough competition in the quarter-final, with Harry Kane cancelling out the advantage of Aurelien Tchouameni’s first goal. However, Olivier Giroud restored their lead with a superb header as France registered a 2-1 win.
Didier Deschamps’ men were not overly impressive against Morocco in the semi-final but they scored a goal in each half to set up a mouthwatering final match with Argentina.
Prediction
It is very hard to predict who will win on Sunday as both sides have been two of the best teams in the tournament so far. But they do have their own weaknesses as well. Les Bleus haven’t been very solid defensively as they have managed to keep a clean sheet only once. While Argentina have struggled at times to take their chances and haven’t been very clinical.
But overall France look slightly better and should edge their rivals with a narrow win.
