Flatmates and football rivals Ariane Casadebaig who is from France and Jorge Sandoval who is from Argentina. They are both supporting their teams who are facing each other in the Football World Cup final. Photo / Dean Purcell.
Flatmates and football rivals Ariane Casadebaig who is from France and Jorge Sandoval who is from Argentina. They are both supporting their teams who are facing each other in the Football World Cup final. Photo / Dean Purcell.
It’ll be a small world on the field and off as France and Argentina battle for football supremacy in Monday’s World Cup final.
At Lusail Stadium in Qatar, Argentine great Lionel Messi will go up against his Paris Saint-Germain club team-mate, and fellow forward, France’s Kylian Mbappe.
More than 14,000km away in an Auckland house share, flatmates Ariane Casadebaig and Jorge Sandoval will be sharing a rivalry of their own, but all in good fun and over a shared pre-dawn breakfast of French croissants and mate (Argentinian herbal) tea.
When Les Bleus and La Albiceleste kick off at 4am on Monday (NZT), Casadebaig, Sandoval and their fellow French, Uruguayan - supporting Argentina - and Kiwi flatmates will join an estimated 5 billion others glued to screens worldwide.
Sandoval said that back in his home town of Villa Amelia, in the province of Buenos Aires, the anticipation is “already crazy”.
“People are celebrating being in the final already. The level of happiness, people are out-of-control happy. My whole family is back in Argentina. Some of my colleagues here are supporting Argentina as well so there is spirit here,” Sandoval said
“Of course, I hope Argentina win. My French friend is right here so I don’t want to say much more than that because I still have to live with her, ha.
“It’s going to be an exciting morning ... We’re going to bring the house down.”
Along with live subscription TV broadcasts, and live-blogging on nzherald.co.nz , the match will screen at bars around the country operating under special liquor licences.
Casadebaig is hopeful her side - the defending champions - will again lift the Fifa World Cup trophy.
Whatever happens, star players Messi and Mbappe are likely to be pivotal, she said.
“I feel like it’s going to be very much about Messi and Mbappe. Both teams have really good players, but I think it will be between those two … Mbappe’s very fast and Messi has very good technique.”
Lionel Messi celebrates at the 2018 World Cup - but his side haven't lifted the winners' trophy since 1986. Photo / Photosport
She’s expecting a close score, perhaps even a penalty shootout decider.
“Hopefully it’s going to be a good game, but obviously I hope France will win.”
Sandoval, who has lived in New Zealand for 18 years now, also noted the extreme pressure on Messi back in his home country.
“People love him and respect him a lot back in Argentina. I think there might be a lot of pressure on him, because everyone is expecting him, not only the team, but him to bring the World Cup home,” he said.
No fan zones are planned in Auckland, Hamilton or Wellington, but more than a dozen bars in Auckland and Wellington have applied for special licences to open for the match. None has applied in Hamilton.
In Wellington, the licensed bars are The Welsh Dragon, D4 Featherston St, The 4 Kings and The Bond Sports Bar.
In Auckland, they are Takapuna Bar, Mayfield Sportshouse, Morningside Tavern, Schapiro’s Sports Bar, QF Tavern, Provedor, The Paddington, Wynyard Pavilion, The Fox and The Right Track Sports Bar & Cafe.
Neither Tauranga nor Christchurch city councils was able to respond to Herald queries about special licence applications before deadline.
Most of the premises are opening under attendance limitations, including capacity limits, ticketing and limited or no door sales, an Auckland Council spokeswoman said.
They had arranged a pre-game quiz to meet their licence requirements that the bar be opened for an event, The Fox, a London Pub bar staffer Claire Kilbrey said.
“It’s all about footy.”
The bar opens at 3am, with entry by $20 ticket only.
If France win they will be the first country since Brazil, in 1958 and 1962, to win back-to-back men’s World Cups. The side also won in 1998.
Flatmates and football rivals Ariane Casadebaig, from France, and Jorge Sandoval, from Argentina, will be watching the World Cup final together. 16 December 2022. Photo / Dean Purcell.
Argentina previously lifted the trophy in 1978 and 1986.
TAB New Zealand has revealed betting data from the Fifa World Cup so far, with more than 65,000 fans getting involved by placing a bet.
The odds on Monday’s World Cup final are also down to virtually a coin toss, says TAB NZ head of betting Nick Conway.
“Argentina and France have been popular options to lift the Cup from the get-go, but at the moment, we’re set to pay out at least $1 million if Argentina prevail, with twice as many bets on Argentina than France for the final,” Conway said.
“Immediately after France’s semifinal win over Morocco, we opened them as $1.85 favourites to lift the Cup, just over Argentina at $1.95, but that’s now down to a coin toss with both teams at $1.87.”
