Argentina take on France in the 2022 World Cup final on Sunday night, in what is undoubtedly the biggest game of the year.
After their shock 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening game of the tournament, Argentina have rediscovered their best form, beating Australia, Netherlands and Croatia in the knockout stages to reach the final of the competition. 2018 World Cup winners France will meet Argentina in the final after their 2-0 win over Morocco in the semi-finals, with wins against England and Poland in their other knockout games putting them one game away from consecutive World Cup trophies.
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are neck and neck in the World Cup golden boot race, with both forwards on five goals for the tournament. Messi is looking for his first World Cup trophy in what could potentially be his last appearance in the tournament, whilst France will become just the third team to win the prestigious tournament back to back if they were to emerge victorious.
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So, how could the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France play out on Sunday? We simulated the clash to try and predict the outcome.
Argentina vs France World Cup final score prediction
To run this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions. We didn’t select a team to control, but let the AI take control to predict the Argentina vs France score.
We expect that the South Americans could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with its line-up as follows: Martinez; Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Acuna; Fernandez, De Paul, Mac Allister; Di Maria, Messi, Alvarez.
We predict that France could set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Lloris; Kounde, Varane, Konate, T. Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Giroud.
It was a very nervy start to the game from both sides, with neither team wanting to push forward in numbers in an effort to avoid being caught on the break. Olivier Giroud had a header tipped over the bar 43 minutes in, and Les Blues managed to take the lead from the resulting corner.
(Image: EA SPORTS FIFA)
Antoine Griezmann whipped an outswinging corner towards the front post, and the inviting cross was attacked by Jules Kounde. The defender leapt highest, and a terrific glancing header saw the ball fly past Emiliano Martinez and into the far corner.
With momentum on their side, France came out the stronger side in the second half, with Mbappe and Olivier Giroud both coming close in the minutes after the restart. Argentina couldn’t cope with the constant pressure, and Griezmann doubled France’s lead 51 minutes in.
(Image: EA SPORTS FIFA)
Theo Hernandez picked out the run of Giroud with a fantastic through ball from the right-back position, and an error saw Cristian Romero unable to cut out the pass from reaching the striker. As Giroud picked up the ball he was quickly closed down by Martinez, but with Griezmann in support, the AC Milan man squared the ball to his teammate who tapped into the empty net.
Dembele was sent one-on-one with Martinez moments after a mistake in the Argentina midfield, but Nicolas Otamendi brought down the winger just outside the box, receiving a red card for his troubles. It was expected that France would ease to victory after Argentina were reduced to 10 men, but a moment of magic from Messi saw La Albicelestee halve the deficit with 20 minutes to go.
(Image: EA SPORTS FIFA)
A counterattack sent Messi and Angel Di Maria forward on the left, and the wide run of Di Maria opened up space for Messi to attack in the middle. After sizing up the backtracking Raphael Varane, Messi cut onto his left and curled a perfectly-placed effort into the top corner from distance.
Alexis Mac Allister thought he levelled the score for Argentina in the 86th minute when he slid Julian Alvarez’s cross in at the back post, but celebrations were quickly muted when the Brighton midfielder was flagged offside. Despite their best efforts, Lionel Scaloni’s side couldn’t find an equaliser as France won the 2022 World Cup.
World Cup final simulation result: Argentina 1-2 France
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that France could win the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina on Sunday, with goals from Kounde and Griezmann securing a 2-1 win. The 2018 champions were clinical in front of goal, whilst Argentina struggled to create many chances, with only a piece of brilliance from Messi getting the South American side on the scoresheet.
France’s Ibrahima Konate won the Player of the Match award in the simulation with an 8.3 rating, with the defender closely followed by Griezmann (8.1) and Aurelien Tchouameni (7.9). If France were to beat Argentina in the final on Sunday, it could prove Messi’s last chance at winning the trophy, whilst Kylian Mbappe will have two titles to his name at just 23 years old.
Who do you think will win the World Cup final between Argentina and France on Sunday? Let us know in the comments below!