World Cup final and third-place predictions: Chris Sutton predicts Argentina v France and Croatia v Morocco

The winner of the World Cup will be decided on Sunday if Les Bleus beat Argentina, which will be the second time in a row that they have done so.

"I've had another good tournament," Sutton said. "And I'm pleased to say I've beaten the challenge of Kent the gibbon in Zagreb Zoo. He went very quiet once Croatia lost in the semi-finals."

A Tokyo otter called Taiyo got that one right when he correctly called the Blue Samurai's shock win over Germany in the group stage of the World Cup.

When he said France would join Argentina in the final, he was right.

In two of the four quarter-finals, he picked the winner, and in five of the eight last-16 ties, he picked the victor.

He picked the right outcome in 26 of the 48 group games for a success rate of 56%.

Twelve of the 16 teams that advanced to the first knockout stage, including England, were chosen by Sutton before the World Cup began.

Sutton's third-place play-off and World Cup final predictions

Saturday, 17 December

Croatia v Morocco (Khalifa International Stadium, 15:00 GMT)

I was very sad for Morocco, who were running out of defenders before and during their semi- final loss to France.

I wonder if they will feel a bit flat now that their dream is over, and if all the emotion they have used up during their run to the last four will ever go away.

I'm not sure what Croatia's selection or mindset will be, but I'm pretty sure that Morocco will want to win this game and finish third.

If both teams are as strong as they can be, I will back Croatia.

I don't think that will happen, so I'm going to give the Morocco fairytale a win.

He predicted 1-2.

Sunday, 18 December

Argentina v France (Lusail Iconic Stadium, 15:00)

I watch France with high expectations but am always left a little bored and think there must be more to come.

At the moment the holders remind me of a Citroen cruising along an old auto route. They may well get all the way to their destination without using any of the gears left.

We would love for England to be effective like that and for us to win the World Cup by finding a way.

I think the French public would like to see them play like Manchester City or Spain and dominate games with flair and style.

Their manager doesn't care what people think. Four years ago, they were labelled bland, but they won the world title.

France does not seem to want the ball at all. In their win over Spain, Morocco had 23% of their possession.

France don't play free-flowing football, instead they carry the ball forward quickly and pick their moments, and with someone like KylianMbappe in the team, they can be devastating in those moments.

There have only been fits and starts forMbappe. Griezmann has linked everything up.

They are not going to change now that it has worked so well.

Messi and Mbappe are the men for the big moments

Argentina and France are similar in that they don't care about having the ball, but are powered by emotion rather than efficiency.

They lost their first game of the tournament against Saudi Arabia.

They have handled that well, and also the expectations of their supporters, that has proved too much for them in the past but, here, their fans have lifted the team with their outstanding backing and they will outnumber France in the final too.

I think they will try to stay in the game early on and wait for the space to open up for Messi, which is when he becomes prominent. France still have more firepower despite the fact that they have a great player in Julian Alvarez.

A final for the purist?

I am going to say that France will win the World Cup because I have backed them since the start of the tournament.

I would love to say that this will be a final for the fans, where there is beautiful football from both sides, but I think it will be a stop-start game, decided by individual brilliance.

There is a lot that could depend on the referee.

Argentina's players seem to be on the edge a lot of the time, so a sterner ref might have punished them with more cards in some of their games.

I think we will see a couple of red cards if Argentina falls behind. They are passionate, but they will fight and scrap to win.

I was in Kazan when France beat them in the last 16 of the World Cup, and I am certain there will be more of that this time.

To send Messi out on a high, Argentina's players are fighting for their jerseys, their fans and their country. I don't think they will control themselves and use their aggression.

France is not afraid of a physical battle and Argentina will not go quietly if they lose.

The prediction was made by Sutton.

All Sutton's World Cup knockout rounds predictions

Semi-finals

Quarter-finals

Last 16

Extra time after.

The Swiss won on penalties.

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