France 4-3 Argentina
Russia 2018 | Round of 16
Kazan Arena, Kazan
Attendance: 42,873
Going into the game
Beaten in the UEFA EURO 2016 final on home turf, France arrived in Russia with an outstanding generation, which included 19-year-old sensation Kylian Mbappe. After drawing a blank in his side’s opening 2-1 win over Australia, the Paris-born sharpshooter tapped home the only goal against Peru, before coming off the bench in a scoreless draw with Denmark.
Argentina, meanwhile, were held 1-1 by Iceland and emphatically beaten 3-0 by Croatia, only for a 2-1 reverse of Nigeria to send them through as section runners-up.
The game
Merely minutes were on the clock when Mbappe burst away from four Argentinians and won a free-kick, from which Antoine Griezmann hit the crossbar. It didn’t take long, however, for the France No7 to ripple the net following remarkable work from their No10. Mbappe sprinted from one end of the pitch to the other to earn a penalty, which Griezmann converted.
Mbappe continued to terrorise Argentina, but they managed to seize the lead thanks to an Angel Di Maria wonder goal and Gabriel Mercado’s effort. Benjamin Pavard restored parity for Les Bleus with the Goal of the Tournament winner, but even that would be upstaged by Mbappe. He complemented an exhilarating first-half display with a clinical second-half one, bagging a quick-fire brace to put France 4-2 up.
Mbappe went off to rapturous applause in the 88th minute, his speed and skill having sent three Argentinians into the book. Sergio Aguero pulled one back thereafter, but it failed to change the outcome – one indebted to arguably the greatest FIFA World Cup™ performance by a teenager since Pele wowed in 1958.
Quotes
“Just look at what Mbappe is doing at his age: scoring a brace, winning a penalty in a round-of-16 tie. I even nicknamed him ‘37’ because he was clocked at 37 kilometres per hour! Honestly, on the bench, we were a bit stunned. He set off from our own half and ran 50 metres to win a penalty. It was just incredible. At one point, I wondered whether he was on a scooter because he was moving so fast!”
Florian Thauvin
“It did us good because it was Argentina in the round of 16 in a crazy encounter! It was a real thrill to be out there. From the first time we saw Mbappe, we said, ‘What a player!’ His performances are certainly backing that up, plus his pace and composure are so impressive. He loves one-twos, technical moves and running in behind. When he becomes even more ruthless in front of goal, he’ll be a top player.”
Antoine Griezmann
