Key areas that could decide the 2022 World Cup final

by
17th December 2022

The 2022 Qatar World Cup final might seem like a million miles away from football in Southport, but it’s set to be compulsive viewing no matter what football team you support.

Lionel Messi will lead his Argentina side against the gallic flair of the French. It promises to be a clash of footballing styles and cultures, but who is likely to win out on the day?

Bookmakers are expecting a close match

Well, the bookmakers certainly can’t decide. They have the French as marginal favourites at 5/6 to win the trophy, but with Argentina just behind in the World Cup odds at 10/11, it’s a close-run contest.

Reading between the lines, the closeness in the betting is an indication that France is the stronger side. The Argentine odds are including the Messi factor. And even with the great man in the team, it’s still only regarded as a 50/50 match.

 

Can Argentina stop the French flair?

So what can Argentina do to stop the French and win the World Cup? As France showed four years ago, they aren’t the sort of side to sit back and hope to win on the counterattack.

Their 4-2 win over Croatia in the 2018 World Cup final was a prime example of football being played on the front foot. So why will they be any different this time around? After all, the French will only be playing to their strengths if they attack.

There’s little to no chance Argentina will adopt this approach. The chances are they will revert to type, and attempt to stifle the French – by any means.

The dark arts of football

Often known as the dark arts, Argentina may resort to these tactics to try and stop the French onslaught. The continuous giving away of niggly free kicks, time-wasting, leaving a foot in on an opponent in a tackle – all these ploys become a potent weapon when trying to slow the opposition down and prevent the game from flowing.

And at the same time, Argentina will be hoping that the genius that is Lionel Messi will create that moment of brilliance that leads to the winning goal.

Argentina employed these tactics against Germany in 2014, and arguably should have won on the night. That match must still haunt Messi. If he had taken just one of the few chances he had against the Germans at the Maracanã that night, it would almost certainly have resulted in a World Cup win for his team.

Messi looks like a man on a mission

Messi has looked a different character in Qatar though. He looks like a man who believes it’s his destiny to win the trophy, and as he has said, this is to be his last attempt at trying.


The match looks like it will come down to two crucial areas which will go a long way to deciding it on the night. Can Argentina stop the French flair? Or can France keep Messi quiet on the night?
Whichever team is most successful in those key areas, is the one most likely to be going home with the World Cup.

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