Leading bookies have told AFP they are praying that Kylian Mbappe and France will beat Lionel Messi and Argentina in Sunday’s World Cup final. All in all, football’s four-yearly showpiece event has been a celebration for bookies, thanks in large part to the relatively early departures of England and Brazil. But the scintillating displays of 35-year-old Messi driving his team in what is his last chance to lift the trophy has scared the hell out of some bookies. William Woodhams, CEO of the world’s oldest bookmaker Fitzdares, said a small part of England will fly the French tricolor on Sunday.
“We fear a goal from Messi and a win from Argentina,” he said.
“We need Mbappé to score more goals than Messi and France to win. On Sunday we will all be French.”
Woodhams said Messi had become the punters’ favorite at the expense of Mbappe, even though they both entered the final as joint top scorers with five goals each.
Mbappé has not scored since a double against Poland in the last 16 game.
“All the money went to Messi as the winner of the Golden Boot,” said Woodhams, referring to the trophy for the top scorer of the World Cup.
“Before the tournament, the smart money was on Mbappe, but people saw an opportunity in Messi and pulled out.
“If he wins the Golden Boot, it will cost us £500,000 ($608,000).”
David Stevens, head of public relations for Coral bookmakers, said it was impossible to split the two parties, which “suggests we could be in for a thriller”.
“With so little between these two teams in the betting, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this final go all the way to penalties,” said Stevens.
– ‘Ebeneezer Scrooge blushes!’ –
Argentina has shown great resilience since losing the opener against Saudi Arabia.
However, they have also evoked memories of the overly physical Argentinian squads, especially in the ill-tempered victory over the Dutch in the quarterfinals.
As a result, punters have placed bets on the number of yellow cards the Argentines will receive on Sunday.
“It’s a popular market and we hope the Argentines calm down,” Woodhams said.
“Many people have 4.5 and above yellow.”
All the bookies interviewed agreed that, with several shocking results, highlighted by Morocco’s historic run-up to the semi-finals, it was an excellent World Cup for their craft.
“Any bookie with cause to complain about this World Cup would make Ebeneezer Scrooge blush!” Stevens said.
“While the final is between the second and third favourites, there were plenty of shocks during the group stage and knockout rounds, meaning there will be turkey to eat this Christmas!
“England and Brazil were the two biggest losers in the book going into the tournament, so we were able to relax the final stages.”
Stevens says few odd bets were placed, but he tipped his hat to the “handful of pre-tournament gamblers who supported Morocco 250-1 before the tournament.”
However, Woodhams is still scratching his head over a gambler’s investment gone horribly wrong.
“The £25,000 on Holland!! Still don’t quite get it!”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
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