Best Bets For France vs Croatia World Cup Final

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Wagerallsports

Wagerallsports

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Insider [h=1]Best bets for France-Croatia[/h] James Eastham
ESPN INSIDER


It has been an exciting ride through the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and it culminates this weekend with a meeting of France and Croatia in the final.

Here are the best bets for France-Croatia, along with a look at Saturday's third-place match between Belgium and England.

Note: All odds are via Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook as of Friday unless otherwise noted.
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[h=2]Final: France (-115) vs. Croatia (+400)[/h]
Sunday at 11 a.m. ET



We backed France to be crowned world champions before the tournament even began, so if you followed our recommendation at 6-1, then you can back Croatia to lift the trophy at 2-1 ahead of this game to guarantee yourself a profit.

Otherwise, low goals is a sound selection on this game. For all the attacking talent in the French ranks, their arch-pragmatist manager, Didier Deschamps, has ensured the side is rock solid on defense, and there's as much a chance of France relying on in-form goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and the back four as the attack to claim victory. Les Bleus were involved in a thrilling 4-3 second-round win over Argentina, but then beat Uruguay 2-0 (the scoreline enhanced by a Uruguayan goalkeeping error) and needed just one goal to see off Belgium (1-0) in the semifinal.

Croatia uses the ball well, but is not exactly offensively prolific or defensively profligate, either. Its three knockout games have all been 1-1 at the end of normal time. The Croatians will look to enjoy a good share of possession, but will defend in numbers to quell the considerable threat France poses.

By backing low goals, history will also be on your side. Six of the last seven World Cup finals stretching back over the past three decades have had no goals, one goal or two goals in 90 minutes. Three of those seven games (Brazil vs. Italy in 1994, Spain vs. Netherlands in 2010 and Germany vs. Argentina in 2014) were 0-0 at the end of normal time, with the average goals-per-game count across the seven games in question a mere 1.14. As those figures show, it would be foolish to expect too many goals.

Best bet: Under 2.0 total goals (-120)
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[h=2]Consolation: Belgium (+115) vs. England (+220)[/h]
Saturday at 10 a.m. ET

This is the game that nobody wants to play, although there are reasons to suspect that this encounter might be a little more competitive than third-place playoffs generally are. The majority of the players across the two squads ply their trade in the English Premier League, and the sense of this being a local derby should add extra spice. There's also the fact that these two sides met in the group phase -- England might want to gain revenge for its 1-0 defeat on that occasion and might also want to prove a point about its competitive edge after suggestions that the English side was not particularly bothered about losing that first meeting, as it afforded it an easier route through the knockout phase.

There's a chance that managers Roberto Martinez and Gareth Southgate might rotate heavily in order to give squad players who have spent most of the past six weeks kicking their heels on the sidelines a chance to show what they can do out on the pitch, meaning there's a question mark over how strong the starting lineups are likely to be. What we do know, however, is that Martinez will send out his team to attack and that an England team that has captured the imagination of their fans back home will want to sign off on a high note, as well.

We're confident enough that this will be an open and entertaining game to back the over on three goals. With this selection, you'll get your stakes back if there are exactly three goals and make a profit if there are four or more goals in 90 minutes.

Best bet: Over 3.0 total goals (-105)
 
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