World Cup final and third-place predictions: Chris Sutton predicts Argentina v France and Croatia v Morocco

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France won’t be the only ones with back-to-back wins on Sunday – if France beat Argentina, BBC football expert Chris Sutton will have managed to pick two consecutive World Cup winners.

“I had another good tournament,” said Sutton. “I am pleased to say that I defeated Kent’s challenge on the outer link at Zagreb Zoo. It was quiet when Croatia lost in the semi-finals.”

Sutton predicts the outcome of every match in Qatar, and has become a TV star in Japan when describing the Samurai Blue’s upset victory over Germany in the group stage – sharing his celebrity status with a Tokyo otter named Taiyo, who also got the win. truly.

Sutton was right again when he backed Argentina past the semi-finals, and he was also spot on when he said France would join them in the final.

He picked the winner in two of the four quarter-finals – taking the exact score in Morocco’s victory over Portugal and France’s victory over England – and from five of the eight round-of-16 matches.

He achieved an overall success rate of 56% in the tournament, having picked the correct score in 26 out of 48 group matches.

Before the start of the World Cup, Sutton selected 12 of the 16 teams that qualified for the first knock-out rounds, including England, who he correctly said would reach the last eight.

Brazil (7): Micah Richards, Alex Scott, Ashley Williams, Gabe Logan, Jurgen Klinsmann, Rio Ferdinand, Karen Bardsley, Matthew Upson, Rob Green Argentina (3): Alan Shearer, Jermaine Jenas, Danny Murphy France (2): Chris Sutton, Danny Gabidon England (1): Fara Williams Sutton Third-place finish and World Cup Final Predictions Match 3 Final Match Saturday Dec 17 Croatia vs Morocco x 1 – 2 World Cup Final Sunday Dec 18 Argentina – France x 1-3 Saturday, December 17, Croatia vs Morocco (Khalifa International Stadium, 19:00 GMT)

I was shattered for Morocco, who were running out of defenders due to injuries they picked up before and during their semi-final defeat to France.

I also wonder about all the emotions they used during their amazing run to the Final Four, and if they might all be feeling a bit flat now that their dream is over.

Morocco will still be desperate to win this match and finish third, although I’m not sure what the selection of Croatia looks like or how they think.

Morocco 0-0 Croatia highlights

They drew 0-0 when they met in the group stage, but this time, if both teams are as strong as they can be and fight everything they can for victory, I will support Croatia.

I do not think that this will happen, so let’s give the Moroccan fairy tale a triumphant end.

Sutton’s prediction: 1-2

Sunday December 18th, Argentina – France (Iconic Lusail Stadium, 19:00 CEST).

France are a very confusing team because I watch them with high expectations but I always get a little bored, and I think there must be more to come.

Its holders are efficient, not sexy, and at the moment they remind me of a Citroen driving along an old automatic road. They only have a few gears left to find, but they may reach their destination without using them.

We’d all like England to be that efficient, of course, and win the World Cup by finding a way and without too much fuss.

I think the French public would prefer them to play like Manchester City or Spain – well, maybe Spain in terms of possession but also taking some shots on goal – and dominate games, win with flair and do it with style.

Didier Deschamps: How the France coach expertly led his team to glory at the 2018 World Cup

But their manager, Didier Deschamps, is pragmatic and doesn’t get bothered by what people think. They were billed four years ago too, but they ended up world champions.

Instead of trying to keep the ball, France didn’t seem to want it at all. Morocco accounted for 23% in their victory over Spain, but managed 61% against the French.

France don’t play freestyle football, instead carrying the ball forward quickly and picking their moments – and with someone like Kylian Mbappe in the squad, they can be devastating in those moments.

Mbappe put in a spotty performance but that was enough. Olivier Giroud was an inspiration and Antoine Griezmann connected it all.

It worked so far, so they won’t change now, right?

Messi and Mbappe are the men of the big moments, fans in Buenos Aires celebrate reaching the World Cup final

Argentina are the same in that they don’t care about possession, but they are a team fueled by passion rather than competence – and Messi’s cycle was about moments, much like Mbappe’s game to France.

After losing their first match of the tournament to Saudi Arabia, they have been under pressure ever since.

They’ve handled that well, and so have their fans’ expectations – it’s proven too much for them in the past, but here, their fans have lifted the team up with their fantastic support and they’ll beat France in the final too.

From watching them so far, I think they will try to stay in the game early on and then wait for Messi to open up the spaces, which is when he became prominent. Julian Alvarez has been fantastic and will be a threat with his shots behind the defence, but overall, France still have more firepower.

A finalist for fundamentalists?

I got a soft spot for Argentina, not only because of Messi, but in terms of my expectations, I will say France will win because I have supported them since before the World Cup kicked off.

As to how they win it, I would say this will be a purists’ final as there is beautiful football on both sides, but I suspect it will actually be a game of stoppage, decided by moments of individual brilliance. .

A lot may depend on Polish referee Shimon Marciniak and how happy he is with the card.

I watched Argentina a lot and thought a tougher referee could have punished them with more cards in some of their matches because their players seem to be on edge a lot of the time.

So, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a few red cards, especially if Argentina fall behind. I love watching them because of their passion, but they will fight and grunt to win at any cost.

I was there in Kazan when they cracked Mbappe up when France beat them in the last 16 in 2018, and there will be more of that this time around, I’m sure.

Summary: France 4-3 Argentina

The Argentine players are fighting for their jersey, fighting for their fans and fighting for Messi, to send him higher. They’re going to have to discipline themselves and harness their aggression, and I’m not convinced they will.

We could see some dark arts from both sides because France is not afraid of a physical battle, and if Argentina loses, they will not go quietly.

Sutton’s prediction: 1-3

Predictions for all knockout rounds of the Sutton World Cup Semi-finals, Tuesday, December 13th, Argentina-Croatia 3-01-0 Wednesday, December 14th, France-Morocco 2-02-1 Quarter-finals, Friday, December 9th, Croatia vs Brazil 1-1 (Crewe won 4-2 on penalties) 0-3 Netherlands vs Argentina 2-2 (Argentina won 4-3 on penalties) 2-1 Saturday, December 10, Morocco vs Portugal 1-01-0 England vs France1- 21-2 Last 16 Saturday Dec 3 Netherlands vs USA 3-12-1 Argentina-Australia 2-15-0 Sun Dec 4 France vs Poland 3-14-0 England v Senegal 3-02-1 Mon Dec 5 Japan vs Croatia 1-1 (Crewe win 3-1 on penalties) 2-1 AET * Brazil v South Korea 4-12-0 Tuesday 6 Desmaru v Spain 0-0 (Moore win 3-0 on penalties) 0-1 Portugal v Switzerland 6-11 -1 p**

* After extra time

** Switzerland won on penalties

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