Argentina vs England Betting Tips: Predictions for World Cup third place play off

It is a game in which no team really wants to play at any World Cup, but for both England and Argentina making it to the third place play off in this 2023 Rugby World Cup will probably be looked back on favourably in coming years. Both sides have exceeded expectations in making it to the last four, with particularly the Red Rose coming agonisingly close to upsetting the Springboks and making the big dance. 

Teams have been named and both Cheika and Borthwick have gone strong so we can expect a decent contest and Billy Grimshaw has two bets worth considering...

Like all good each-way bets, my punt on Argentina in this World Cup has finished one place outside of the required slots for a profitable return. Ah well, they couldn't be expected to do too much more than they have and were simply no match for the might of the All Blacks, who have grown into the tournament brilliantly since their opening night loss to France. England on the other hand were a side I could not have in a month of Sundays. Their style of play is the antithesis of entertainment, but by hook or by crook Borthwick's men have made their way almost to the final and for that they deserve credit.

Bookmakers make them heavy favourites to repeat their game one win over Los Pumas, and despite my general downbeat attitude towards the English I have finally been won over and will be backing them to bag the bronze medal. Argentina improved as the World Cup went on but their attack has never fully hit the heights their supporters will have been hoping for and England can grind them into submission.

Steve Borthwick has made eight changes to his side, including switching out the front row entirely, but the Red Rose philosophy will not change and points will be at a premium. The worry with backing the unders in a third place play off is the shackles may come off, and if one man is going to benefit from that most is England's Harry Arundell. He has been a reserve for most of the tournament but in his one starting appearance so far bagged a staggering five tries.

In the World Cup so far England have only seen two games out of their six go over 46 points, and the first meeting between these two saw just 37 scored with only one Puma try. Defensive solidity is the priority for any Steve Borthwick team and despite the potentially more attacking line up named, expect England to continue to play a conservative style of rugby with focus on getting points from the boot over the hands.

Argentina's games, barring their clash with England in the groups and their tight contest with Samoa, have seen over 47.5 points but as we saw in the first meeting between the sides, England are the ones that will dictate how the game is played so expect it to be a stop start affair with plenty of kicking opportunities but perhaps few exciting breakaways and free flowing passing moves resulting in five pointers.

This is a bit of a swing in a game like this, which can often have a bit of a dead rubber feel meaning teams defend with less ferocity and attack with more freedom. However, I did not expect to see 50/1 on offer for the game to just descend into a proper old fashioned snooze-a-thon with no tries. Borthwick has insisted how seriously his side are taking the game, as are the Pumas, and with that in mind and an iffy weather forecast in France on Friday there is potential the game becomes a chess match and a grind.

England failed to score a try in the first meeting between these sides and were of course kept tryless by the Springboks last time out. Argentina are a bit more of a potent attacking team but coming into the World Cup many expected them to be one of the real teams to watch in terms of attacking flamboyance, and that simply has not materialised. England will take penalties at any opportunity to keep the scoreboard ticking over and of course have Owen Farrell's rocket boot to notch drop goals from all over the field.

Argentina's philosophy would be more attack focused than the Red Rose, however we have seen on more than one occasion that the more negative side in a game of rugby can drag their opponent down to their level and Argentina could begin playing penalty ping pong with England in the hope of staying in the game.