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The France battles Argentina Friday at Matmut Atlantique in Bordeaux, France. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET (Peacock). Below, we preview FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the France vs. Argentina odds, and make our expert Summer Olympic picks and predictions.
France, which came in 2nd in the World Cup at the international level in 2022, dominated the U23 group stage. As the hosts, France has won 2 of its 3 games by at least 3 goals. It kicked off Olympic play with a 3-0 win over the USMNT, which also cracked the knockout stage. France then beat Guinea 1-0 and New Zealand 3-0.
Neither France nor Argentina made the knockout stage in the 2020 Summer Olympics, an event won by Brazil.
Argentina, unlike France, had a rough start. Despite many of these players not being on the roster, Argentina-France is a repeat of the 2022 World Cup final, which Argentina won. In the Olympics, Argentina lost to Morocco 2-1 in the 1st match then took down Iraq 3-1 and Ukraine 2-0.
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France vs. Argentina odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at Thursday, 7:12 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline: France +110 (bet $100 to win $110) | Argentina +250 (bet $100 to win $250) | Draw +240
- Over/Under: 2.5 (O: +109 | U: -145)
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France vs. Argentina picks and predictions
Prediction
Argentina 1, France 0
Moneyline (ML)
TAKE ARGENTINA (+250).
There’s something to be said about having experienced players that have been in top knockout stage games before. F Julian Alvarez and D Nicolas Otamendi are the players over 23 year that are with Argentina, and the former was a key part in Argentina winning Copa America just a few weeks ago.
Argentina has a loss on its resume, but it had 7 more shots than Morocco. It then had back-to-back 2 goal wins. On the other hand, France beat up on the USMNT and then had a few dominant yet unimpressive victories.
France’s defense has struggled and has allowed 30 shots through its 3 matches. Expect a talented Argentina attack to break through a relatively untested French defense.
ARGENTINA (+250) is the way to go as the best value play here.
Over/Under (O/U)
BET UNDER 2.5 (-145).
The Under, despite the expensive price, still has good value here. The defenses have been too good to assume the offenses will be able to consistently break through. Argentina has allowed 3 goals, 1 of which was a penalty kick, and it has allowed just 1 in its last 2 games. France has allowed 0 goals.
While both teams have scored with ease, this will be the most competitive game each has been a part of. In the 2020 Summer Olympics, 4 of the 6 games between the quarterfinals and semifinals went Under this total.
With both defenses having performed so far and the high intensity this game should have, take UNDER 2.5 (-145).
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More USA TODAY Summer Olympics coverage:
News | Medal count | Meet Team USA
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