Argentina vs. France Prediction
The first match in the knockout stage of the World Cup today will pit two of the world’s powerhouses in Argentina and France against each other. Can Argentina prove it is fully past some of its group play issues and post the win today as the sizable underdog?
Game Snapshot
97845 Argentina vs. 97846 France
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Kazan Arena at 10AM ET
TV: FOX
Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers, France is a +135 favorite to win on the moneyline. Argentina is a +240 underdog, while a draw bet is set at +200. The total is set at 2 goals.
Argentina overcomes rough start to group play
A 1-1 draw against Iceland got Argentina off to a slow start in group play, while that was followed by a disastrous 3-0 loss to Croatia. In need of a victory over Nigeria plus a Croatia win over Iceland, the Argentinians had it all fall into place to advance to the round of 16. Argentina scored a goal in the 86th minute courtesy of Marcos Rojo to break a 1-1 tie and notch the win, advancing the Group D favorites to the knockout stage in fairly lucky fashion. Lionel Messi gave Argentina a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute, but Nigeria managed to tie it on a penalty kick by Victor Moses in the 51st minute. Argentina held 65 percent of the possession, yet only put eight shots on the scoresheet with four being on goal. Nigeria had nine shots in the match, three on goal.
France protects back end in draw
Entering the final Group C match between France and Denmark, both squads knew it would be through with a draw and that is exactly what happened. The two squads played the first 0-0 match of the World Cup as neither showed a lot of imagination or intent to create serious chances. France did control much of the action, holding 62 percent of the possession and firing off 11 shots (four on goal. Denmark was held to five shots (one on goal). France defeated Australia 2-1 and Peru 1-0 in its first two World Cup contests.
Prediction:
Bettors seem to have soured on Argentina after its rough group play showings, but this is still a team with the most talented player on the pitch in Messi. France has a considerable amount of talent, but is still on the young side and didn’t exactly dominate in group play. This seems like a good opportunity to take a chance on an underdog bet with a national team that played in the World Cup title match four years ago. Forget the last three games because a team this talented is capable of rising to the occasion and I believer Argentina will do that here.
WORLD CUP DAILY PREDICTION: ARGENTINA +240