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France and Argentina Have the Best Odds to Meet in the World Cup 2026 Final, Bookmakers Currently Say

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Will Real Madrid target Kylian Mbappe be lining up alongside Lionel Messi at Paris Saint-Germain this season?

With the World Cup’s quarterfinal picture now largely set, bookmakers and prediction models have identified France and Argentina as the two teams most likely to reach this year’s final, a projection based on both nations’ strong outright title odds and their positioning on opposite sides of the tournament bracket.

According to odds published via FanDuel Sportsbook as of July 6, France remains the outright favorite to win the tournament at +175, meaning a $10 bet would return $27.50 total. Spain sits second at +330, followed by Argentina at +450 and England at +500. Norway, Colombia, Belgium, Morocco, Switzerland and Egypt round out the field with considerably longer odds, ranging from +1800 for Norway up to +25000 for Egypt.

The reason France and Argentina stand out as the most likely finalists comes down to bracket structure rather than head-to-head odds alone. The tournament’s knockout bracket is split into two separate halves, with the winners of each half advancing to face one another in the final. France sits in the top half of the bracket alongside Spain, meaning the two European heavyweights, currently the tournament’s first and second favorites, are on a collision course to meet each other in the semifinal round rather than the final itself. That dynamic effectively makes France the strongest single team positioned to emerge from that half of the bracket, given its status as the tournament’s overall favorite heading into its quarterfinal matchup with Morocco.

Argentina, by contrast, sits in the bottom half of the bracket alongside England, Norway, Egypt, Switzerland and Colombia. With odds of +450, Argentina holds a narrow edge over England’s +500 as the most likely team to emerge from that half of the draw and reach the final. That positioning means Argentina and France, rather than Argentina and Spain or England and France, represent the most statistically probable pairing to meet in this year’s championship match, according to current bookmaker projections.

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France’s path to the final begins with a quarterfinal matchup against Morocco on Thursday, July 9, in Boston. France reached this stage after posting an unbeaten group-stage campaign followed by knockout wins over Sweden and Paraguay, with Kylian Mbappe continuing to anchor the team’s attack as one of the tournament’s leading scorers. Morocco, meanwhile, advanced by eliminating co-host Canada 3-0, becoming the first African nation to reach back-to-back World Cup quarterfinals following its historic run to the semifinals in 2022. Should France advance as expected, the team would face the winner of Spain’s quarterfinal against Belgium in the semifinal round, a matchup that would pit the tournament’s top two favorites against one another before either could reach the final.

Argentina’s route runs through a different set of contests. The two-time defending champion faces Egypt on Tuesday in Atlanta, a highly anticipated matchup pairing Lionel Messi against Mohamed Salah. Argentina advanced to this stage after needing extra time to eliminate tournament debutant Cape Verde in the Round of 32, while Egypt reached the Round of 16 for the first time in 92 years on the strength of a penalty shootout win over Australia. Should Argentina advance past Egypt, the team would then face the winner of Tuesday’s other remaining fixture between Switzerland and Colombia in the quarterfinal round, before a potential semifinal matchup against the winner of Norway’s quarterfinal against England.

England’s path has also strengthened considerably in recent days. According to ESPN’s betting coverage, England’s outright title odds improved from 10-1 to +520 following the team’s dramatic 3-2 win over co-host Mexico, moving the Three Lions ahead of every team except France and Argentina in the outright market. Norway’s odds similarly surged from 45-1 to 17-1 after the team’s stunning 2-1 upset over five-time champion Brazil, reflecting the growing belief among bookmakers that Norway, led by tournament co-leading scorer Erling Haaland, could make a deeper run than initially expected.

Prediction market data has told a broadly similar story. Analysis from TNT Sports noted that France’s odds have solidified since the team’s knockout-stage wins over Sweden and Paraguay, reinforcing its position as the clearest favorite remaining in the tournament. Meanwhile, Spain’s odds improved further following its 1-0 win over Portugal in the Round of 16, a result that also marked the end of Cristiano Ronaldo’s storied World Cup career, though Spain’s position on the same half of the bracket as France means the two nations cannot both reach the final under the tournament’s current knockout structure.

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It is worth noting that outright odds and bracket positioning, while useful indicators, do not guarantee any specific outcome, and the tournament has already produced several notable upsets through its group stage and Round of 16, including Norway’s win over Brazil and Belgium’s 4-1 rout of co-host United States. Colombia, Switzerland, Morocco, Belgium and Norway all remain alive with the potential to disrupt the projected France-Argentina final should any of them advance further than current odds suggest.

Beyond the outright betting markets, the ongoing race for the tournament’s Golden Boot adds another layer of intrigue to a potential France-Argentina final. Mbappe and Messi currently sit tied atop the tournament’s scoring charts with seven goals apiece, alongside Norway’s Haaland, marking the first time in World Cup history that three players have reached that tally in the same tournament. Should France and Argentina both advance to the final as bookmakers currently project, the match would not only represent a rematch of sorts between two of the tournament’s most successful recent programs, but also potentially set up a direct showdown between two of the game’s most prolific active goal-scorers on the sport’s biggest stage.

With the semifinal round still more than a week away and the final not scheduled until July 19, plenty of soccer remains to be played before any final matchup is determined. For now, though, bookmakers and bracket analysis alike point toward France and Argentina as the two nations best positioned to meet in this year’s championship match, a projection that will continue to be tested as the tournament moves through its remaining knockout rounds in the days ahead.

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Despite The Headwinds, Earnings Are Exploding To The Upside

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Aino Health reports Q2 sales decline on project delays

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National role for resources wealth

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Blue Dart Express shares surge 7% after Q1 results. Here’s why Nuvama retains Buy, raises target

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Blue Dart Express shares surge 7% after Q1 results. Here's why Nuvama retains Buy, raises target
Shares of Blue Dart Express surged 6.77% to Rs 5,509.50 in Monday’s trading session after the logistics major reported a strong Q1FY27 performance. Brokerage firm Nuvama retained its ‘Buy’ rating on the stock, citing strong execution and growth prospects.

The company’s consolidated net profit jumped 79.6% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 88 crore in Q1FY27, compared with Rs 49 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from operations increased 15.1% YoY to Rs 1,658 crore, from Rs 1,441 crore in Q1FY26.

The strong quarterly performance was supported by higher revenue traction, improved operational efficiency, and expansion in operating margins. Blue Dart’s EBITDA margin improved significantly, reflecting better cost management and disciplined execution despite a challenging business environment.

Commenting on the results, Balfour Manuel, Managing Director, Blue Dart, said, “Our Q1FY27 performance reflects focused execution, disciplined network management and continued customer confidence in the Blue Dart brand. Despite a challenging operating environment and higher operating costs, we delivered strong profit growth while maintaining our commitment to reliability, speed and service excellence.”

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He added that the company remains focused on enhancing productivity, strengthening its integrated air and ground network, accelerating digital adoption, and investing in sustainable capabilities to create long-term value for stakeholders.

Nuvama remains bullish, raises valuation outlook

Brokerage firm Nuvama maintained its ‘Buy’ rating on Blue Dart Express, citing strong quarterly execution and the company’s positioning in the growing e-commerce logistics segment.
According to Nuvama Research, Blue Dart delivered a robust Q1FY27 performance, with revenue growth of 15% YoY, ahead of estimates. The brokerage highlighted that EBITDA margin expanded by 220 basis points YoY to 15.8%, while profit before tax (PBT) margin improved to 7.2% from 4.6% a year ago, reaching the company’s guided medium-term range of 7–8%.
The brokerage noted that profit after tax (PAT) surged 81% YoY to Rs 88.5 crore, significantly exceeding its estimates and consensus expectations. Following the strong quarter, Nuvama raised its FY27E and FY28E earnings per share (EPS) estimates by 4% and 2%, respectively.
Nuvama has retained its ‘Buy’ recommendation, valuing Blue Dart at 38x June 2028 earnings, and revised its June 2027 target price to Rs 7,350 from the earlier Rs 6,900.

The brokerage believes Blue Dart is well positioned to benefit from the ongoing consolidation in the e-commerce parcel market, which contributed around 30–31% of revenue in FY26. At the current market price, the stock trades at approximately 28x FY28E earnings.

With improving margins, sustained revenue growth, and a strong logistics network, Blue Dart remains a key beneficiary of India’s expanding express delivery and e-commerce ecosystem.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

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Dubai and Doha Fully Open, but Kuwait Remains Limited Amid Conflict

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Dubai International Airport

Air travel across the Middle East continues gradually stabilizing more than five months after the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran conflict severely disrupted one of the world’s busiest aviation corridors, though several major hubs remain constrained by damaged infrastructure, safety advisories and ongoing regional hostilities.

The Iran war triggered widespread airspace closures beginning Feb. 28, when U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran plunged the region into conflict, grounding tens of thousands of flights and severing key global transit hubs connecting Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. According to travel platform Wego, the resulting grounding of flights and temporary isolation of mega-hubs like Dubai and Doha represented the most disruptive systemic shock to global aviation since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several major hubs are now operating close to normal levels. The United Arab Emirates, home to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, is described as fully open, according to Wego’s most recent assessment. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman are all described as largely open, though each continues to carry some operational caveats depending on the specific airport and airline involved. Dubai International Airport is running flights across all three of its terminals, and Qatar Airways confirmed earlier this summer that it had restored flights to 85% of its pre-crisis schedule levels.

Kuwait represents the clearest ongoing exception to that broader recovery. Kuwait’s main airport remains not fully operational, according to Newsweek’s assessment of the current situation, with key infrastructure still damaged and some terminals remaining closed. Foreign airlines continue to face restrictions at the airport, and while portions of Kuwaiti airspace have reopened, international routes into and out of the country remain limited compared with pre-conflict levels. Terminal 1, the airport’s primary international facility, has remained closed since suffering significant structural damage, including a partial roof collapse, during a strike in early June, with Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways instead operating out of Terminals 4 and 5.

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Even in airspace that is technically classified as open, aviation safety advisories tied to earlier missile, drone or military activity continue to shape how airlines operate throughout much of the region. Regulators and airlines have continued flagging elevated risk across Iran, Iraq and broader Gulf airspace, according to aviation safety tracking service safefly.aero, with some carriers selectively avoiding certain flight paths or reducing service frequencies even where no formal airspace closure remains in place.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has maintained some of the most cautious guidance among international regulators. EASA’s Conflict Zone Information Bulletin, most recently extended through Aug. 31, instructs EASA-regulated airlines to avoid flying within the airspace of the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar at any altitude, along with a defined portion of the Gulf of Oman, citing continued risk tied to missile, drone and combat aircraft activity linked to the region’s unstable security situation. That advisory has led numerous major international carriers, including British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Air Canada and members of the Lufthansa Group, to extend their own suspensions of Middle East routes well into the autumn, even as UAE-based carriers such as Emirates, Etihad Airways and flydubai continue operating the substantial majority of their networks.

Other pockets of restriction persist across the broader region as well. Four airports in southern Saudi Arabia were closed by NOTAM earlier this summer after a Houthi missile and drone attack, part of a broader pattern of intermittent strikes and closures that has continued affecting specific airports even as most of the region’s major hubs have returned to largely normal operations. Air traffic routing through the middle of the Gulf has also remained complicated by Kuwait’s ongoing limitations, forcing many international operators to route flights around the country via either a southern corridor through Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Oman, or a more northerly path, according to aviation monitoring group OPSGROUP.

Airlines have continued a gradual, staggered process of restoring previously suspended routes throughout the summer. British Airways resumed flights to Dubai and Doha beginning July 1, while Gulf Air has steadily rebuilt its network following Bahrain’s airspace reopening, restoring service to cities including London, Dubai, Istanbul and Riyadh, with additional routes continuing to phase in through the summer months. Iraqi Airways has similarly resumed both domestic and international operations as part of a broader phased return to service across the region’s national carriers.

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Given how frequently conditions have continued shifting throughout the conflict, travel monitoring services consistently advise passengers to verify their specific flight status directly with their airline before heading to the airport, rather than relying solely on general regional status updates, given how quickly individual route restrictions, terminal closures and safety advisories have continued changing across different countries and airlines throughout the ongoing conflict.

With Kuwait’s main airport still working through infrastructure repairs and several international regulators maintaining cautious advisories through the end of August, the broader Middle East aviation sector appears likely to continue its gradual, uneven recovery in the weeks ahead, even as the region’s largest hubs in Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi have largely returned to something closer to their pre-conflict operating tempo.

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Minor Earthquake Rattles Hawthorne, California, on Sunday Evening

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Aerial view of Hawthorne

A minor earthquake shook the city of Hawthorne, California, on Sunday evening, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, though no damage or injuries were reported in connection with the tremor.

The magnitude 2.6 quake struck at 8:30 p.m. local time, with its epicenter located less than a mile from the neighboring communities of Gardena, Inglewood and Westmont, all situated within the greater Los Angeles area. Seismologists recorded the earthquake’s origin at a depth of 6.5 miles below the surface, according to USGS data.

Earthquakes of this magnitude are common across Southern California, a region crossed by numerous active fault systems, including segments of the broader San Andreas Fault network that runs through much of the state. The USGS estimates that Southern California experiences thousands of earthquakes each year, though the vast majority are too small to be felt by residents without sensitive seismic instruments. Quakes in the magnitude 2.5 to 3.0 range, like Sunday’s tremor near Hawthorne, are generally on the threshold of what a person standing near the epicenter might notice, often described as a brief jolt or vibration rather than significant shaking.

Hawthorne and the surrounding South Bay area of Los Angeles County have experienced similar small earthquakes in the past without resulting in damage. The USGS operates a real-time earthquake monitoring system that tracks seismic activity across the country, publishing data within minutes of a quake’s occurrence and inviting residents who felt shaking to submit reports through its “Did You Feel It?” online tool, which helps researchers map the extent and intensity of ground motion associated with a given event.

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Sunday’s earthquake was one of several recorded across California in recent days, part of the routine background seismicity that characterizes the state. In the weeks prior, the USGS logged a magnitude 4.3 earthquake near California City on July 13 and a magnitude 4.1 quake near Frazier Park on July 12, both considerably stronger than Sunday’s Hawthorne tremor but still within the range of earthquakes that typically cause little to no damage. Larger, more damaging earthquakes in the magnitude 5.5 and above range remain comparatively rare events, though seismologists have long cautioned that Southern California remains overdue for a major rupture along sections of the San Andreas Fault, based on historical recurrence intervals.

No tsunami warning was issued in connection with Sunday’s earthquake, and the USGS did not report any immediate aftershock activity following the initial tremor. Local emergency services in Hawthorne and the surrounding communities did not report receiving calls related to damage or injuries stemming from the quake.

Residents throughout the greater Los Angeles area are routinely encouraged by California emergency management officials to maintain basic earthquake preparedness measures, including securing heavy furniture, keeping emergency supplies on hand, and staying familiar with the standard “drop, cover and hold on” response recommended during shaking, given the region’s ongoing exposure to both minor and, less frequently, more significant seismic activity.

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Rolls-Royce: Strong Aviation, AI, And Energy Growth Make It A Buy

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Dhierin-Perkash Bechai is an aerospace, defense and airline analyst.
Dhierin runs the investing group The Aerospace Forum, whose goal is to discover investment opportunities in the aerospace, defense and airline industry. With a background in aerospace engineering, he provides analysis of a complex industry with significant growth prospects, and offers context to developments as they occur, describing how they might affect investment theses. His investing ideas are driven by data informed analysis. The investing group also provides direct access to data analytics monitors.
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

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EV Company News For The Month Of July 2026

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The Trend Investing group includes qualified financial personnel with a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment and well over 20 years of professional experience in financial markets. They search the globe for great investments with a focus on trending and emerging themes. The current focus is on electric vehicles, the EV metals supply chain, stationary energy storage and AI.They lead the investing group of the same brand name, Trend Investing. Features of the service include: Access to the Trend Investing portfolio, 7 monthly news updates, a monthly macro trends update, stock watchlist, CEO interviews, and direct access to the community and group leaders in chat.

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