France open as bookies' slight favourites over Argentina for final

BetRivers did open with both countries offered at +185, although Argentina shifted to a +180 favorite within an hour of France's victory, with France's odds lengthening to +195.

The two countries have taken different paths to meet in the final in Qatar.

After opening with a stunning loss to Saudi Arabia in the group stage, Argentina have steadily found their form. After blowing a 2-0 lead in the closing minutes of the quarterfinals and needing penalties to survive the Netherlands, Argentina thoroughly dominated Croatia, who reached the 2018 World Cup final.

France cruised through their first two group games before resting many of their stars in a 1-0 loss to Tunisia. The defending champions then won a dramatic game against England before muscling past Morocco, the first African side to reach a World Cup semifinal.

Argentina and France last faced each other in a World Cup in the last-16 in 2018, with France prevailing 4-3 en route to the title. This will be the first time the countries have met in a World Cup final.

Only Italy (1934, 1938) and Brazil (1958, 1962) have won consecutive World Cups.

Croatia are heavily favoured in Saturday's third-place playoff as they are being offered at +135 at DraftKings to beat Morocco (+210). Croatia are also favoured at BetMGM (+138) and BetRivers (+123) over Morocco, at +195 and +230, respectively.

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