From The Horse's Mouth - Mark Van Deventer

Spain versus Argentina for the World Cup! And France v England in the match neither side really want to be in, the bronze medal playoff for 3rd spot.

Here are the match odds as quoted on Interbet:

FRANCE 9/10 ENGLAND 11/4 DRAW 3/1

SPAIN 13/10 ARGENTINA 13/5 DRAW 21/10.

To commence, the Goal Guru peeks at the 3rd place playoff game scheduled for Saturday night at 23h00.

England blew it by going into defensive retreat mode when a goal to the good against Argentina. Parking the bus works sometimes, but true champions assert their superiority by playing to win, not by trying to hang on – a loser’s mentality. 

A defensive mindset allowed Argentina space to attack and for their wizard playmaker Messi, to stretch his total number of assists to 12, the highest ever at a World Cup. This surpasses Maradona (8), then Germany’s Littbarski and Poland’s, Lato (7)

Tuchel has come under heavy criticism for lapsing into such a cautious pattern, (perhaps rightly so), as the situation required a bolder strategy. 

But renowned French manager, Dechamps (who has a great record for his nation as a player and manager) was castigated for the opposite reason after their surprising loss to Spain. He was accused of opening up too much, which allowed the canny and controlled Spanish unit to sneak in. 

It’s hard to get the balance right. Win, by any means and you’re a genius - get beat and you’re a bum!

It’s quite possible the England team line-up on Saturday night will be vastly different to the personnel used in recent matches, due to injuries and exhaustion. The entire squad are gutted, and it will be hard to lift themselves for this playoff. 

Maybe, a new look team will provide them with some impetus. Yet France with an even deeper squad, who are, if measured by most of the analytical metrics that matter, a clearly superior outfit, are tipped to sweep past the Three Lions and take 3rd place in what could be a high scoring contest.

Whilst squad rotation seems a key factor in this game, the duel between Kane, Bellingham and Mbappé for the Golden Boot remains an intriguing sub-plot.

On to the final! 

Opta Analytics reckons Spain is a 60% chance to lift the World Cup Trophy, named after Jules Rimet, one of the founding bosses of FIFA and initial instigator of a global footballing competition for professional soccer players.

Argentina, who have showed remarkable powers of recovery against Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland, are thus assessed with a 40% chance of becoming champions, based on the Opta Supercomputer. 

Interestingly, the official betting has the draw slightly more likely than an Argentina victory at full time. This price about a draw reflects their resilience and combative competitiveness, which could neutralise arguably more skilful and complete opposition.

Spain are busy compiling one of the longest unbeaten streaks ever by an European team, matching the great Italian side who went 37 games without a loss between 2018 and 2021. Spain’s current record reads, 28 wins and 9 draws.

It’s a harsh reality in football that the better side doesn’t always win. 

Spain, however, are a brilliant tournament team at the peak of their powers and they (Messi GOAT factor aside) should prove too strong for the feisty Argentinians. 

Spain controls the ball so well, are excellent defensively (conceded just a solitary goal this tourney) and also have incredibly fast wingers for maximum penetration.

Yamal, potentially one of the best players in the World over the next few years, is tipped to be the matchwinner by running with the ball and taking the Argentinian players on.

That’s how the Goal Guru sees it.

Good luck and enjoy the final – kick-off 21h00 on Sunday night.