While all eyes will be on Australia vs Spain in their 2019 FIBA World Cup clash on Friday night (check preview here), there’s another semi-final taking place a little while after that we’re taking a good look at. This semi-final will see Argentina vs France for a spot in the World Cup final. Check out our preview and betting tips for this game below and good luck to everyone following!
FIBA World Cup Betting Tips
Argentina vs France (Friday, 10pm AEST)
Two unlikely customers will face off in the second semi-final. Argentina have surprised everyone with how well they’ve played so far, while France defied in the odds in the quarterfinals to knockout USA. It should be an intriguing game to say the least.
Argentina
Until France said hold my beer, Argentina had claims to the biggest upset in the World Cup when they defeated Serbia in the quarterfinals. Their 97-87 win over Serbia was one that no one saw coming, especially when you look at the talent gap between the two countries. Argentina became the first nation this century to reach the final four of a World Cup with no NBA players on their roster. They’ve had to rely on the experienced Luis Scola who despite being 39 years of age, has been tearing it up in the front court.
France
As we all know, France knocked off USA in the quarterfinals with an 89-79 win, which makes Australia’s form line look even better considering we beat the French just a couple of days prior. Anyway, back to France. They’re anchored by NBA Defensive Player of the Year in Rudy Gobert and have a number of other NBA talent with the likes of Nic Batum, Frank Ntilikina and Evan Fournier. The latter has been doing most of the heavy lifting on the offensive end and will be the focal point again on Friday night.
History
Argentina and France have met four times since 2016 with France winning three of them. Most recently, they met for an international friendly where France were victorious by 19 points.
Last four meetings:
18.08.19 – France 77-58 Argentina
02.08.16 – Argentina 86-79 France
09.07.16 – France 70-57 Argentina
05.07.16 – France 64-57 Argentina
Prediction
This should be great battle between two basketball-loving nations. On paper France look the far better team, but Argentina are playing fantastic team basketball and have proven themselves time and time again over the last couple of weeks. It’s a tough match to predict, but we have to lean towards France due to their sheer quality. We don’t see it being a blowout either, so the 1-10 market gives you some nice value.
