This Sunday, from 12 o’clock (Argentine time), Argentina and France will face each other to decide on the new world champion. The match, which will be refereed by Polish referee Szymon Marciniak, will be played at the Iconic Stadium in Lusail and can be watched live on television through TyC Sports, sports, TV Pública and DeporTV, or by streaming through the platforms TyC Sports Play, and DGO.
To reach the decisive match, the team coached by Lionel Scaloni started its way in the ecumenical tournament with a 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia (goal by Lionel Messi); then it recovered immediately and defeated Mexico 2-0 (Messi and Enzo Fernández); while it closed the group stage with a 2-0 victory against Poland (Alexis Mac Allister and Julián Álvarez). In the direct elimination round, the first opponent was Australia, whom they defeated 2 to 1 (Messi and Álvarez); then the Netherlands appeared on the horizon, whom they defeated on penalties after a 2 to 2 draw (Nahuel Molina and Messi); while in the semifinals they defeated Croatia 3 to 0 (two goals by Álvarez and one by Messi).
The defending champions, champions at Russia 2018, meanwhile, started the tournament with a 4-1 win over Australia (two goals by Olivier Giroud, one by Kylian Mbappé and one by Adrien Rabiot), then defeated Denmark 2-1 (two by Mbappé), while in the last matchday of Group D they lost to Tunisia 1-0. In the round of 16, they were untroubled to beat Poland 3-1 (two goals by Mbappé and one by Giroud); in the quarterfinals, they beat England 2-1 (Aurelien Tchouameni and Giroud), and finally, they beat Morocco 2-0 in the semifinals (goals by Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani).
Argentina vs. France: everything you need to know
Qatar 2022 World Cup Final.
Date: Sunday, December 18.
Time: 12:00 (Argentine time).
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland).
Stadium: Iconic of Lusail.
TV: TyC Sports, TV Pública, DSports and DeporTV.
Streaming: TyC Sports Play and You can also watch the match by tuning in to TV Pública, DeporTV or TyC Sports through Flow, DGO, or Telecentre Play (all platforms require a subscription).
Which channels broadcast Argentina vs France match lives in Qatar 2022 World Cup Final?
Argentina vs France for the Qatar 2022 World Cup Final can be watched by Argentine fans on TV Pública and TyC Sports. Meanwhile, in Peru, the duel for the title can be followed through DirecTV Sports and Latina. Check out the channels broadcasting the match below.
Ecuador: El Canal del Fútbol and Teleamazonas.
Peru: DirecTV Sports and DirecTV Go
United States: Fox Sports
Argentina: DirecTV Sports and TV Pública
Mexico: TV Azteca Deportes, ViX+, TUDN and Sky Sports
Bolivia: Tigo Sports
Paraguay: Tigo Sports
Brazil: Rede Globo
Venezuela: Televen,, DirecTV Sports and DirecTV Go
Colombia: RCN TV and Caracol TV, DirecTV Sports and DirecTV Go
Chile: ChileVisión, Canal 13 and DirecTV Sports and DirecTV Go
Uruguay: Antel TV, Teledoce, DirecTV Sports and DirecTV Go
Spain: La 1 de TVE
As for the Albiceleste, Scaloni is putting the final pieces of his tactical plan in place for the match against France. There are plenty of alternatives. Everything will depend on the intention: whether to reinforce the offensive weapons or to increase the defensive tasks to counteract the danger that Kylian Mbappé, among many others, can cause. The Argentine national team is a chameleon-like team, capable of adapting to any circumstance that comes it’s way. Everyone wants to play the game of their lives this Sunday, but only eleven, at least in the first instance, will have the joy of doing so.
In goal, Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martínez is an immovable piece. In defense, the first doubt arises: a line of four or five? Perhaps a viable alternative would be to use three central defenders and two wingers, as against the Netherlands, so that each opposing striker has an assigned mark and none of them has space to play freely. The other is the usual way: with two central defenders and two wingers, which would leave Lisandro Martínez out of the team. On the other hand, Cristian ‘Cuti’ Romero and Nicolás Otamendi have their place assured regardless of the tactical design.
At the same time, there is also the question of who will be the starting fullbacks. On the right side, Nahuel Molina -who had a great World Cup- has the advantage, but there is a precedent that also opens the possibility of Gonzalo Montiel playing: nothing less than the final of the Copa América 2021, in which the former River played from the start and played a memorable match completely annulling players of the stature of Neymar and Vinicius Jr. who, coincidentally, play in the same sector as Mbappé. On the other side, Marcos Acuña is the usual starter of the team, but his natural replacement, Nicolás Tagliafico, is coming from an outstanding game in the semifinal against Croatia, so he is also fighting for a place in the starting eleven.
In the midfield, Enzo Fernández, Rodrigo de Paul and Alexis Mac Allister formed an ideal trinomial, so their places in the final would be assured. What is not clear is who will accompany them near the center circle. One of the alternatives is the entry of Ángel Di María, who would act as a false right winger, with the responsibility of collaborating in the back to form a 2 vs. 1 against Mbappé in the defensive phase and to minimize the rise of Theo Hernández in that sector. This entry would force the Albiceleste team to play with four defenders. However, the possibility of having only three midfielders (Fernandez, Mac Allister and de Paul) is also being analyzed in order to play the match with five down.
Up front, the outlook is clear. Lionel Messi and Julián Álvarez will be in the starting lineup. Between the two of them, they have scored nine of the 12 goals of the Argentine national team so far in the World Cup (five for ‘La Pulga’ and four for ‘La Araña’). No tactical design would open the possibility of either of them not being part of the starting team. On the bench, Lautaro Martínez, Paulo Dybala and Ángel Correa will be waiting for a chance in the second half.
On the France side, coach Didier Deschamps has had some setbacks in the last few days that could cause complications for the team’s preparation for the title match. Five members of the squad contracted a Covid-19-like illness, known as “camel flu”, which could leave them without any chance of playing time on Sunday: first Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot, who missed Wednesday’s semi-final match against Morocco. Then Kingsley Coman was infected and, according to L’Equipe, Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konaté are also victims of this virus.
Injuries are France’s karma at the World Cup. The team lost six first-team players to physical problems before the start of the tournament, and one was already in competition. Prior to the start of the tournament, the coach was without goalkeeper Mike Maignan, defender Presnel Kimpembe, midfielders Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kanté, and forwards Christopher Nkunku and Karim Benzema. Then, in the Group D opener against Australia, starting left-back Lucas Hernandez suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and was forced to leave the training camp. However, despite all these setbacks, the French team reached the final, where they will seek to defend their title and win it once again.
What do the odds say?
According to the main sports betting platforms around the world, the defending champion is the favorite to win the three points by a minimum difference, with odds close to 2.82. A win for the Albiceleste, meanwhile, pays around 2.85, while a draw pays odds of up to 3.05 at national and international bookmakers.
What does LA NACION’s prediction say?
LA NACION presents a mathematical model developed by the Calculus Institute of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) that predicts the chances that each team has of winning a match, as well as of becoming champions. According to this model, the candidate to win the World Cup title is Argentina, with a 50.7% chance. On the other hand, the European team has a 49.3% chance.
