Argentina vs France: FIFA World Cup Live Stream, Form Guide, Head to Head, Schedule, Fixture and Probable Lineups

La Albiceleste defeated last edition’s finalists Croatia 3-0 to reach their second World cup final in eight years, while France got the better of surprise package Morocco 2-0 in their semi-final fixture.

File photo of Argentina players; Credit: Twitter/@Argentina
By Sreejith C R | Dec 18, 2022 | 4 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

The 2022 FIFA World Cup has reached its final stretch as Argentina will take on reigning champions France in the title-decider at Lusail Stadium on Sunday.  La Albiceleste defeated last edition’s finalists Croatia 3-0 to reach their second World cup final in eight years, while France got the better of surprise package Morocco 2-0 in their semi-final fixture. Les Bleus are heading into the match as the first holders in 24 years to participate in the final. Meanwhile, the previous meeting between these two heavyweights of football was four years ago in Russia, in the last-16 stage, when France secured a thrilling 4-3 victory courtesy of a brace by Kylian Mbappe. 

Argentina were simply brilliant against Croatia on Tuesday, as the two-time champions rode on Messi’s magic and Julian Alvarez’s youthful exuberance to progress to the final with ease. Alvarez, who came into the tournament as a deputy to Lautaro Martinez has evolved into one of the key players for Lionel Scaloni’s side. The 22-year-old won the penalty for Argentina, which Messi converted to take the lead inside the opening 35 minutes. And then, four minutes later, the Manchester City forward went on a marauding run from his own half, carried the ball all the way to the opposition penalty box before tucking in from close range to double the lead. Meanwhile, the magic moment was still to come, as 35-year-old Messi made his trademark run down the right flank, twisting and turning, making Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol look like a fool, before providing a cutback from the byline for Alvarez to slot home from 8 yards out. 

France, on the other hand, put two goals past Morocco without reply on Wednesday. Left-back Theo Hernandez gave an early lead to Les Bleus as the AC Milan player slotted home with an acrobatic finish from the left side of the penalty box. After taking the lead, Didier Deschamps side sat back, allowed the Atlas Lions to have a major share of the ball possession and resorted to counter-attacks. And then, eleven minutes from time, Mbappe produced a moment of individual brilliance to get past three Moroccan players inside the box, before his attempted effort deflected into the path of substitute Randal Kolo Muani, who tucked home from close range to double the lead and seal the win. It was the first clean sheet of the tournament for France and now, they will be hoping to become only the third nation to ever win back-to-back World Cup. 

Read more: FIFA World Cup 2022: The leading candidates to win Golden Boot in Qatar

Probable Lineups 

Argentine full-backs Marcos Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel, who missed the semi-final match because of yellow card suspensions, are at Scaloni’s disposal once again for the penultimate game. Left-back Acuna is expected to replace Tagliafico in the starting eleven, while Montiel could deputize right-back Nahuel Molina. Attacking midfielder Papu Gomez is the only injury concern for the South American champions as the Sevilla-man is nursing an ankle problem. Meanwhile, Angel Di Maria, who was benched in the last match in order to accommodate an extra midfielder is likely to return to the playing eleven, joining Messi and Alvarez up front. As for France, the likes of Dayot Upamecano, Raphael Varane, Adrien Rabiot, Ibrahima Konate  and Kingsley Coman are reportedly in the sick room because of some kind of flu.Olivier Giroud, who has netted four goals in the tournament thus far, will lead the line, with Mbappe, Dembele and Antoine Griezmann in support.  


Argentina probable starting lineup: E. Martinez, Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Acuna, De Paul, E. Fernandez, Mac Allister, Di Maria, Messi, Alvarez

France probable starting lineup:  Lloris, Kounde, Varane, Upamecano, Hernandez, Tchouameni, Rabiot, Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe, giroud

Form Guide

Argentina

OpponentsScore
Croatia3-0 (W)
Netherlands2(3)-(4)2 (W)
Australia2-1 (W)
Poland0-2 (W)
Mexico2-0 (W)

France

OpponentsScore
Morocco2-0 (W)
England1-2 (W)
Poland3-1 (W)
Tunisia1-0 (L)
Denmark2-1 (W)

Head to Head

Last 5 matches (all competitions)Score
France beat Argentina4-3
Argentina beat France0-2
Argentina beat France0-1
Argentina beat France2-1
Argentina beat France1-0

Argentina vs France Schedule and Fixture

The FIFA World Cup final match between Argentina and France will take place at the Lusail Stadium on Sunday at 8:30 pm IST.

Argentina vs FranceKey Details
DateDecember 18
VenueLusail Stadium
Kickoff time in India8:30 pm
Kickoff time in Argentina12:00 pm
Kickoff time in France4:00 pm
Kickoff time in Qatar6:00 pm

Where to watch Argentina vs France?

The FIFA World Cup in Qatar can be seen on Sports18 – 1 SD & HD – in India. Sports 18 will be telecasting the games on the regular and HD Channels. Besides, Viacom18 Sports announced that Jio Cinema will live-stream all the World Cup games. Besides, the match between Argentina and France can be seen on DeporTV, TyC Sports Play, Television Publica and DirecTV Sports network in Argentina; and TF1 and beIN Sports network in France.





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