After over 100 matches, the 2018 FIFA World Cup champion will finally be decided this coming Sunday, as Croatia and France duke it out in an all-European title match. Do you have a pick already? If not, it might be wise to check in with what the experts are saying before laying down your bets.
Expert Picks and Predictions for the FIFA World Cup Final on July 15 2018
Oddshark Pick: France
If you’re not into trusting people, as in human experts, when it comes to betting advice, how about a computer? In a guest column on Bleacher Report, Oddshark revealed which team its computer’s pick is to win in the World Cup Finals. Well, it’s not much of a shocker to know that Oddshark expects France, the favorite to win it all this Sunday. The Croatians maybe the underdogs in this match, but they have been the sleepers long before the tournament started. They started to turn heads when they had a strong performance in the group stage, which includes a 2-0 win over Nigeria and a 3-0 over Lionel Messi and Argentina. They beat Denmark and Russia in the round of 16 and quarterfinals both via penalty shootouts before teaching England a lesson about not having preemptive celebrations (“It’s coming home”). We say all of that to point out that Oddshark’s computer hasn’t been Nostradamus-esque when it comes to predicting outcomes in the World Cup. It’s only 28-33 in its last 100 games picks in the tournament.
CBS Sports Pick: France
Roger Gonzalez of CBS recently published an extensive breakdown of the finals matchup. He picked six major factors in the matchup and picked a side. Gonzalez gave overall talent to France, have a more balanced squad in terms of talent. There’s not much drop-off in terms of player quality for France. He also gave France the edge in goalkeeping, defenders, and defenders. Meanwhile, he thinks the midfield, attacking, and coach are all equal for both sides. The midfield is probably the most interesting matchup. While France have Paul Pogba and Ngolo Kante, Croatia have the pair of Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric. In the end, Gonzalez thinks it’s going to France who will take home the title via a 2-1 win over Croatia.
Forbes Pick: France
Robert Kidd published a solid breakdown of things to know about the upcoming finals. He mentioned that Croatia is the smallest country to get represented in the World Cup Final in almost seven full decades, 68 years to be exact. The point? It’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog (or however that goes). He also gushed at the exciting matchup inside a matchup between star midfielders Modric and Kante. Kidd questioned France’s poise, of whether Le Bleus have the same nerves shown by Croatia in the knockout stages in which the Chequered Ones have won two games via penalty shootouts. That said, Kidd thinks that the finals match won’t reach the shootout portion, predicting that Didier Deschamps’ men will prevail, 1-0. No fairytale ending for the little guy in this one.
TopBet Writer (Ryan Simpson) Pick: France
In his recent prediction piece for the World Cup final, TopBet resident writer Ryan Simpson cites Croatia’s immense talent in the midfield (Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic) as giving the country a legitimate shot at the win. But like the experts above, it won’t be enough to elevate them over France. Unfortunately.
Sheesh, that’s four of four experts picking France to win this thing. At press, 50-51% of the money is on a France win, but there is definitely an opportunity to walk away with some dough. Follow the links below to make it happen.
