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France vs Argentina Betting Odds and Match Preview

The first game of the Knockout phases begins on Saturday June 20th at 10am Eastern time in Kazan Arena as France takes on Argentina. Both teams have underperformed up to this point, the difference being that France still won two of its games in the group stage whereas Argentina faltered in their first two games and won by the skin of their teeth in the third match to clench a spot in the knockout round. This will be the 12th time that these two countries have met in international competition, and the third time they have met during the World Cup. Our World Cup betting odds show Argentina with the edge in this game and in prior matches Argentina holds the better record, with six wins, three draws and two losses. The last meeting was a 2009 friendly that Argentina won 2-0.

France

In the group stage, France benefitted from inferior competition against Peru and Australia, and was unable to prove they were the better team in a 0-0 draw with Denmark. Against Peru and Australia, the French team looked disinterested and unmotivated, but was still able to pull off wins in both games. A favorite going into the tournament, France's failure to impress has left fans frustrated, as key players such as Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba have yet to show their dominance. Regardless of what the expectations are, the fact remains that France got the wins it needed in the group stage and advanced to the round of 16 under its own volition, unlike Argentina, who more or less stumbled into second place in their group.

Argentina

'Stumbling' may be an understatement. From the first time Iceland got through Argentina's defense in their first game, it was clear that something was wrong. The same team that had made it to the finals in 2014 looked disjointed, confused, and completely incapable on defense, while their potent, star-studded offense could not break through and get more than a single goal, even when their superstar Leo Messi was gifted a penalty kick.

Argentina left that game with a 1-1 tie, but the frustrations flowed over to the next game against Croatia, where things got sloppy. After some more frustrations due to lack of scoring, Goaltender Willy Caballero gifted a goal to Ante Rebic, and from there Argentina fell to pieces, losing 3-0.

Needing a win in their third and final match as well as a win by Croatia over Iceland to advance, Argentina put their demons behind them and got out to an early lead on a spectacular goal by Messi. They were given a scare early in the second half when Victor Moses scored on a penalty kick, but this time they did not let the frustration get to them and played a level-headed game that ended with an emotional Marcus Rojo goal in the 86th minute. There are still several questions going forward, including the status of their embattled manager, but at least the team gave Argentines something to cheer about with the knockout round qualification.

Match Overview

It is difficult to say who is a clear favorite here. For as unconvincing as France was in their first three games, they were still way more convincing than Argentina. What Argentina does have going in its favor is that this will likely be the first time that France is really tested at the World Cup. Up until now, all of France's competition has been against much weaker teams, and for as sloppy and disastrous as Argentina has seemed at times, they are still stacked with talent. Even in the first two games when Argentina could not score, they still managed to control the ball for most of play, indicating that there is still hope for this team. If Argentina can get out to a quick lead and establish some confidence, they have a shot at winning. If France exposes Argentina's weaknesses early on, it will be over for Messi & co.

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Group Phase