Who is in the World Cup final? Teams that will play 2022 championship match on December 18 in Doha, Qatar

With the knockout phase of the 2022 FIFA World Cup almost complete, the final of the showpiece is almost upon us.

The biggest match in football will take place in mid-December for the first time when it is held on December 18.

The showdown will take place at the Lusail Stadium almost four-and-a-half years after France beat Croatia to win the 2018 final.

Who's playing and who do the bookmakers reckon is the most likely to win the final? Read on to find out what we know so far.

MORE: World Cup bracket 2022: Live updated FIFA knockout stages 

Who is in the World Cup final?

Argentina blasted past Croatia in the first semifinal to reach their sixth World Cup final. They will face France, the champions four years ago, after Les Bleus overcame Morocco.

Finalist 1

• Argentina
• Croatia

Finalist 2

• France
• Morocco

Path to World Cup final

Lionel Messi's dream of World Cup glory remains alive after Argentina's win over Croatia on Tuesday, while France beat Morocco — masters of keeping clean sheets — on Wednesday.

But there have also been surprises, as tournament favorites Brazil were knocked out on penalty kicks against Croatia in the quarterfinals. Croatia again proved that they are specialists in taking knockout games to extra time and winning after they recovered from going behind to a Neymar goal to level and then win in the shootout.

Morocco stunned Spain in the Round of 16 with a penalty shootout victory and repeated the trick to beat Portugal in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, France edged past England in a game they were probably second best for long spells, as Harry Kane missed a late penalty for the Three Lions.

In the second semifinal, an early Theo Hernandez goal gave France a lead to defend, which they did admirably before Randal Kolo Muani sealed the 2-0 victory.

Quarterfinals

• Netherlands 2 Argentina 2 (Argentina adv. on penalties)
• Croatia 1 Brazil 1 (Croatia adv. on penalties)
• England 1 France 2 
• Morocco 1 Portugal 0

Semifinals

• 1: Argentina 3 Croatia 0
• 2: France 2 Morocco 0

Third place match

• Croatia vs Morocco – December 17 (Khalifa International)

Final

• Argentina vs France – December 18 (Lusail)

MORE: Teams eliminated from the World Cup

World Cup final odds

As the reigning champions, France have been shorter odds than Argentina to lift the trophy during the tournament.

There is little to choose between the teams and Argentina have also been consistently favoured by bookmakers to go far since overcoming an opening defeat to Saudi Arabia and 64-minute wait for a goal against Mexico in their second group-stage game.

Odds correct as of Dec 15

Who has won most World Cup finals?

Past performance suggested that Brazil were the likeliest team to win the trophy, but that won't be the case in 2022 after their early defeat at the hands of Croatia. But they also won't be caught by another team in 2022 given Germany (eliminated in group stage) and Italy (failed to qualify) will not get there.

Argentina and France have the chance to win a third title, stuck on two with Uruguay so far.

Who has made most World Cup finals?

Germany are the most consistent team at staying the course at the finals and they will continue to be unmatched heading into 2026 after Brazil were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 2022 edition by Croatia.

France have now reached four finals, all of which have come since 1998, when they won the trophy for the first time.

The Netherlands have most often been a game away from glory without winning the World Cup, making their third and most recent appearance in the final when they were beaten in extra-time by Spain in 2010.