On December 18th, we will all get to witness the finals of the 2022 World Cup. The defending champions France will have a chance to lift the trophy again, but Argentina and their captain Lionel Messi will try to prevent this from happening. So, who will become the World Champion on Sunday?
Netherlands
3
USA
1
Argentina
2
Australia
1
Japan
1 (1)
Croatia
1 (3)
Brazil
4
South Korea
1
England
3
Senegal
0
France
3
Poland
1
Morocco
0 (3)
Spain
0 (0)
Portugal
6
Switzerland
1
Netherlands
2 (3)
Argentina
2 (4)
Croatia
1 (4)
Brazil
1 (2)
England
1
France
2
Morocco
1
Portugal
0
Argentina
3
Croatia
0
France
2
Morocco
0
Argentina
3 (4)
France
3 (2)
Only few days remain before we find out, so we wanted to take this chance to present you with all improtant info regarding the 2022 WC final and our predictions for this game. We will also check out the third place playoffs too, so keep reading to learn more about the last two games of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Contents
World Cup 2022 Final: Argentina vs France
Kickoff Time: Sunday, December 18th, 15:00 UK, 16:00 CET.
Venue: Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail
TV: BBC One, ITV1
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
Odds (Taken From Ladbrokes):
Argentina – 9/5 (2.80) – 35.7% Implied Probability
Draw – 2/1 (3.00) – 33.3% Implied Probability
France – 7/4 (2.75) – 36.4% Implied Probability
Argentina vs France Prediction
After winning the World Cup title four years ago in Russia, France has a chance to become the first team to defend the title since Brazil did it all the way back in 1962. The team reached this stage by eliminating Poland, England, and Morocco in the knockout stags.
Meanwhile, Argentina will have a chance to win their third World Cup trophy overall, just like France. Led by their captain Leo Messi, Argentina eliminated Australia, Netherlands, and Croatia in the knockout stages to get to the final game of the tournament.
As expected, the two teams are priced almost evenly ahead of the game, with France being a slight favourite. So, we also expect a very close match and with all the tension and excitement, we wouldn't be surprised if the game ended without a winner after 90 minutes.
WC 2022 Third Place Playoff: Croatia vs Morocco
Kickoff Time: Saturday, December 17th, 15:00 UK, 16:00 CET.
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
TV: BBC One
Referee: Abdulrahman Al Jassim (Qatar)
Odds (Taken From Stake):
Croatia- 10/7 (2.43) – 41.2% Implied Probability
Draw – 7/3 (3.33) – 30% Implied Probability
Morocco – 2/1 (3.00) – 33.3% Implied Probability
Croatia vs Morocco Prediction
Although they failed to reach the final game for the second time in a row, this was certainly a successful tournament for Croatia and if they can crown it with a win in the game for third place, it can get even better. Croatia reached this stage by eliminating Japan and Brazil in the knockout stages before losing to Argentina.
Meanwhile, Morocco already made history by becoming the first-ever African team to reach the semi finals of a World Cup. Morocco did this by eliminating Spain and Portugal in the knockout stages before finally succumbing to France.
These two teams were in the same group in Qatar and their game ended without any goals. We can see this being a similar match to this, without many goals, but we expect Croatia to win the game since they have more experience at this level.
Schedule for the World Cup Final and Third Place Fixtures
As per the planned schedule for the World Cup, the finals will be held on December 18th. To be a little more specific, the game will be played at 6 PM local time, which is 3 PM in the United Kingdom. This means that the World Cup finals fixtures are set for a time that is friendly for all viewers, especially since this is a Sunday! So most people won’t even need to worry about dipping out of work to watch the match. As for the location, the Lusail Iconic Stadium has been the confirmed venue for the finals.
This is held in a region of Qatar named Lusail, hence the actual stadium name. And the capacity of this stadium is a whopping 80,000 when full, which it obviously will be for the World Cup final. This is the largest of all the host stadiums for the 2022 World Cup, which is often the leading factor behind stadium selection for the final match.
So there you have it – the time, venue, and exact location of the World Cup finals!
Third Place Playoff Match
One day before the big final of the 2022 World Cup, we will witness the game for third place between Morocco and Croatia. So, the game is scheduled for December 17th at at 6 PM local time – 3 PM in the United Kingdom. The match will be played at the Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan, which can hold up to 45,857 spectators.
Argentina vs France – Past World Cup Final Appearances
Ahead of the exciting final between Argentina and France, we wanted to look back at the previous final appearances by both teams to see how often they reached this stage and how well they fared.
Argentina World Cup Final Appearances
- 1930, Uruguay – Argentina reached the final game of the first-ever World Cup in history, where they were going to meet the hosts in Montevideo. Uruguay was the favourite in this match and they dully delivered, beating Argentina 4-2.
- 1978, Argentina – It took nearly fifty years and a chance to host the tournament before Argentina once again reached the final. More than 70,000 people gathered at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires to see Argentina lift the trophy for the first time and, after strugglign for a bit, their team managed to do so. The hosts took the lead in first half over Mario Kempes, but Netherlands drew back near the end to send the game to overtime. However, Kempes and Bertoni scored twice in overtime for the final score of 3-1 to Argentina.
- 1986, Mexico – Led by legendary Diego Armando Maradona, Argentina managed to reach another final in 1986. Maradona was the team's captain and best player as he scored two gaols apiece against England and Belgium in quarter and semi final matches. However, Argentina didn't need his goals in the final against West Germany to win the game 3-2 for their second World Cup title.
- 1990, Italy – Just four years after Mexico, Argentina and West Germany once again met in the final. Argentina didn't shine since they had to beat Yugoslavia and Italy on penalties in previous stages to get to the final and it was a lone penalty kick by Andreas Brehme in the 86th minute that led to their loss in the final.
- 2014, Brazil – Once again the Germans were the end of Argentina's dreams of lifting the World Cup trophy for the third time in their history. This time around, the lone goal came in overtime and it was the work of Mario Goetze.
France World Cup Final Appearances
- 1998, France – The first-ever World Cup final for France came at their home ground and it was against the most decorated team in football history, Brazil. However, on that night in Paris, there was only one team as France cruised to a 3-0 victory, carried by Zinedine Zidane who scored twice in the final.
- 2006, Germany – Eight years after they won their first World Cup title, France had a chance to do it again, but this time their hero Zidane turned into a tragic figure after he was sent of for that infamous headbutt of Marco Materazzi, ten minutes before penalty shootout. The two players were also the leading figures in the regular time since Zidane put France to lead early in the game and Materazzi swiftly rough Italy back. Italy won the game 5-3 on penalties.
- 2018, Russia – Led by the new generation of players, France got back to the World Cup final in 2018 in Russia. To the surprise of many, their opponent was Croatia, who won't remember their first World Cup final fondly. After all, France pretty much had the game won from the start and the final score was 4-2 for France.
Most Memorable World Cup Finals in History
While every World Cup final is special and unique, some of them simply transcend the others in excitement and quality of football. With that in mind, we selected three of our favourite finals from the World Cup history for you:
Uruguay vs Brazil – World Cup 1950 in Brazil
The stage was set for Brazil's first World Cup win in history – the famous Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro was packed with more than 170,000 people, all eager to celebrate along with their team as they lift the trophy intended for the champions of the world. In fact, due to the structure of the World Cup that year, Brazil only needed a draw to become the champion.
However, all the spectators and Brazil players experienced was huge disappointment instead of immense joy. Brazil did take the lead early in the second half, but goals by Juan Alberto Schiaffino and Alcides Ghiggia silenced Maracana and brought Uruguay their second World Cup title, the last one to date.
West Germany vs Hungary – World Cup 1954 in Switzerland
England vs West Germany – World Cup 1966 in England
The birthplace of football got the chance to host the World Cup in 1966 and the expectations for England were high ahead of the tournament as this was seen as the perfect opportunity for the team to win their first World Cup title ever. Finally, the stage was set after England reached the final, where they would meet West Germany.
Nearly 100,000 packed Wembley to witness this game and they indeed witnessed history. West Germany took an early lead, England punched back quickly and the teams were tied at half time. Then, Peters brought England close to lifting the trophy, but Weber scored an equaliser a few minutes before the end to send the gaem to overtime. Despite that, the English dominated the overtime and Geoffrey Hurst added two more goals to achieve a hat-trick in the game and bring England their first and still the only World Cup title.
World Cup finals fixtures FAQs
When will we know the teams involved in the finals?
After the semi finals, we now know the two teams that will fight for the title – Argentina and France
Where will the World Cup finals be televised in the UK?
You will be able to watch the World Cup finals on BBC and ITV in the UK.
Can I already bet on the World Cup finals fixtures?
Yes, the odds are already out for the final game of the 2022 World Cup.
Will I be able to get any betting bonuses for the finals?
It is incredibly likely that online bookmakers will whip up some bonuses for the World Cup finals, yes. Just check out your online betting provider nearer the time to see what’s on offer.
