Heavyweights France and Argentina eye Quarter-Final berth
Kick-off : 5:00 PM (Local)
Venue : Kazan Arena, Kazan
Argentina qualified with a bit of a difficulty and that is something which is not good coming into the knockout matches. They will have to show a lot of character and play a lot better if they wish further progression.
But make no mistake this Argentinian side has got all the ingredients necessary to become world champions. First though they will need to overcome the French challenge which won’t be easy.
On the other hand, France played extremely well in the group stages and their are high expectations from them as the world cup moves ahead.
They have now got a tough match in Argentina in the last 16 and they will have to give their all and hope for the best.
Argentina have a better track record against France and they will look to make that count.
Team news and possible line-ups
Samuel Umtiti, Hugo Lloris, Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba are all available for France and will play against Argentina on Saturday evening.
As for Argentina, they are likely going to play the same XI as in the Nigeria game.
France XI : Lloris, Hernandez, Varane, Umtiti, Pavard, Pogba, Kante, Matuidi, Griezmann, Mbappe, Giroud.
Argentina XI : Armani, Tagliafico, Rojo, Otamendi, Mercado, Di Maria, Banega, Mascherano, Perez, Messi, Higuain.
Prediction
It’s a tough call to predict the outcome of this match as both teams are equal. But I think given the presence of Messi in Argentina they are the favorites for further progression. I expect a 2-1 Argentina win in extra time.
