The Best Bet: Disjointed France and Argentina heading for early stalemate

There is a high probability Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba will all be on the field at one time on Saturday afternoon. On paper it should make for a thrilling affair, but the form of both countries this summer would suggest anything but.

Didier Deschamps has been France manager for six years and Les Bleus still haven’t come anywhere close to the perfect remedy on the pitch. They seemed to come close to striking the right balance at Euro 2016 but appear only to have gone backwards since then.  

Despite flattering to deceive in the build up to the 2018 World Cup, France were still considered pre-tournament favourites and cannot be discounted going into any match with the players at their disposal. Even if things aren’t going their way, they have enough players that can turn a game with individual quality.

Team news and odds in our match preview

Having said that, France only scored three goals in the group stage and their best players failed to produce any special moments of any note. If things don’t improve then they could be heading for an early exit this summer.

What bodes well for France is their opponents are also struggling. Despite the fact Argentina are fortunate still to be in the competition, it’s difficult to completely write them off when they have one of the best players in the world in their team. It’s a shame that two teams that have potential are no where near hitting top gear ahead of Saturday’s clash.

Our tip for France and Argentina is for the scoreline to be 0-0 at the interval. Argentina have failed in the first half of four of their last seven World Cup matches, while France have drawn a blank at the interval in five of their last six World Cup outings. Given the form of both teams, it's not out of the question to suggest this will continue in Kazan. Bet Stars are offering odds of 2.40 for the score to be 0-0 at the break in the first round of 16 match of the 2018 World Cup.