France 4-3 Argentina
Russia 2018 | Round of 16
Stadium: Kazan Arena
Attendance: 42,873
France goals: Antoine Griezmann (13 pen), Benjamin Pavard (57), Kylian Mbappe (64, 68)
Argentina goals: Angel Di Maria (41), Gabriel Mercado (48), Sergio Aguero (90+3)
Teams
Argentina
Coach: Jorge Sampaoli
Starting XI: Franco Armani; Gabriel Mercado, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Rojo, Nicolas Tagliafico; Enzo Perez, Javier Mascherano, Ever Banega; Cristian Pavon, Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria.
Substitutions: Federico Fazio for Rojo (45), Sergio Aguero for Perez (65), Maximiliano Meza for Pavon (74).
France
Coach: Didier Deschamps
Starting XI: Hugo Lloris; Benjamin Pavard, Raphael Varane, Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Hernandez; Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante; Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Blaise Matuidi; Olivier Giroud.
Substitutions: Corentin Tolisso for Matuidi (74), Nabil Fekir for Griezmann (82), Florian Thauvin for Mbappe (88).
Hitherto head-to-head record
5 Argentina wins
2 France wins
4 draws
Going into the game
From the moment they touched down in Russia, the French squad set determinedly about settling a score after having succumbed to a 1-0 extra-time defeat to Portugal on home turf in the UEFA EURO 2016 final. Although the Les Bleus faithful remained convinced that the ‘Griezmann Generation’ had what it took to be crowned world champions, the team now had to go out and deliver.
Didier Deschamps’ side sailed through the group stage pretty much unscathed but the experienced coach came under fire from many quarters for his conservative approach, with the team accused of lacking flair. Following a narrow 2-1 victory over Australia in a lacklustre opening performance, France went on to edge past Peru in a 1-0 triumph before sharing a forgettable scoreless stalemate with Denmark. However, the French headed to Kazan for the tussle of titans brimming with confidence, with players who were hungry to prove themselves, such as Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi and a certain Kylian Mbappe, who was just 19 at the time.
Meanwhile, their last-16 opponents, Argentina, were in a state of disarray and had far less reason for optimism. The Albiceleste got their campaign up and running with a disappointing 1-1 draw against tournament newcomers Iceland, followed by a humiliating 3-0 defeat at the hands of eventual finalists Croatia. Those results left the South American heavyweights teetering on the brink of group-stage elimination. Yet once again, a Lionel Messi strike and a last-minute winner from Marcos Rojo in their decisive contest against Nigeria spared the South Americans from an embarrassing early exit.
After claiming a nail-biting 2-1 win over the Super Eagles, Jorge Sampaoli’s troops knew that they had been minutes away from disaster. The Argentinian players understood the scale of the challenge that lay ahead against France and that they would need to raise their game in front of another capacity crowd. The coach firmly believed that his charges, who were runners-up at the 2014 edition of the global bonanza, could use their recent setbacks to find renewed strength and kickstart a winning streak.
The game
In the build-up to the Round-of-16 contest, everyone had the same question on their lips: does the great Messi really have what it takes to lead the Albiceleste to global glory? After all, La Pulga had not had much luck in the latter stages of the World Cup or the CONMEBOL Copa America. Any spectators distracted by such thoughts were swiftly snapped back to reality by the blistering pace of a jet-heeled youngster. Having carried the ball from around halfway inside his own half, Mbappe was brought down in the box by Rojo, earning his side a penalty, which Antoine Griezmann coolly converted. With 13 minutes on the clock, Les Bleus were already in the box seat, and the Argentinian fans could not help but fear the worst.
Fully in control of proceedings, Les Tricolores then began to slow the tempo of the match. Argentina attempted to reduce the deficit but were repeatedly thwarted by a solid French defence and an inspired Hugo Lloris between the sticks. With the French backline holding firm, Angel Di Maria was forced to try his luck from range, conjuring up a moment of magic as he struck a fierce left-footed shot from 30 yards out that flew beyond Lloris to restore parity in the 41st minute. The teams headed into the interval level pegging, and the French were back to square one.
Although Deschamps’ men showed little sign of being shaken by Di María’s stroke of genius, their confidence began to crumble just two minutes into the second half, when Messi’s shot following a free-kick was deflected into the net by the fortunate Gabriel Mercado. Much to everyone’s surprise, Argentina had just stolen the lead.
The French players and coaching staff knew all too well that the next few minutes would be crucial in their quest to claim a quarter-final berth. Just how would Les Bleus, who had yet to find themselves behind so far in the campaign, respond against an Argentinian side that seemed capable of digging themselves out of even the biggest hole?
The French replied in stunning fashion, fashioning the outstanding goal of the tournament. As the 57th minute approached, Lucas Hernandez darted down the left flank to meet an inch-perfect threaded pass before sending a first-time cross into the box. The ball appeared to have been overhit, and possession looked certain to return to the Argentinians, but then Hernandez’s counterpart on the right, the relatively unknown Benjamin Pavard, burst on to the scene, seemingly out of nowhere.
Without giving it so much as a second thought, the 22-year-old instinctively caressed the ball with the outside of his boot, sending a crisp half-volley into the back of the net. The ball seemed to spin in slow motion as everything came to a standstill inside the Kazan Arena. Watching on from his front-row seat, for a split second, Griezmann considered getting his head to the ball in an effort to divert it goalwards, but thought better of it before wheeling away in celebration. The Atlético de Madrid ace had just witnessed a strike for the ages, but little did he know that there was plenty more to come.
Given a new lease of life, the French sensed an opportunity to stretch their lead. In the 64th minute, Hernandez delivered another teasing ball into the box and after the Albiceleste struggled to clear their lines, it fell to the feet of Mbappe. The rising star shifted the ball to his left, and despite this reducing the angle, his powerful effort flew under the body of the helpless Franco Armani. The goal sent the French fans into raptures, and they would have further cause for celebration just four minutes later.
Following the cutest of through-balls from Olivier Giroud, the fresh-faced Mbappé, who was far too quick for the retreating Argentinian defenders, once again beat Armani with a clinical finish to etch his name into the history books. Les Tricolores had managed to turn the match on its head in the space of just 11 second-half minutes, with Mbappe becoming only the second player under 20 to find the net more than once in a FIFA World Cup™ knockout match since a player by the name of Pelé.
As if the match needed any more drama, Sergio Aguero set up a grandstand finish when he nodded home a pinpoint Messi cross in additional time. Yet the end result was inevitable. France finally showed their true colours and motored towards their second World Cup crown, while Mbappe went from strength to strength in his glittering career. It was another disappointing campaign for Argentina’s No10, who once again failed to register in the knockout stage. However, four years later in Qatar, the Rosario-born talisman would firmly dispel any lingering doubts.
Quotes
“It’s quite an honour to be the second player to do it, but let’s put it into context: Pelé is in a league of his own. As I’ve always said, the World Cup brings together the best players on the planet, and if you want to show what you’re capable of, there’s no better stage than the World Cup.”
Kylian Mbappe
“It’s slipped in behind, and Lucas [Hernández] crosses it over. At the far post, Pavaaaaard! Oh! Benjamin Pavard! Oh, he’s only gone and done a Nacho! It’s not a Nacho, it’s now a Pavard!”
French TV commentator Gregoire Margotton
“I’m not afraid to admit that I’m still shaking. I’m really chuffed with my goal and also for the team. It gave us some breathing space. I love nothing more than to hit a volley. I used to practise them as a youngster. It’s a great day for me, the team and the whole country. It’s a massive win against a strong Argentinian side. After the match, I ran all over the place. I didn’t know what to do with myself.”
Benjamin Pavard, speaking to TF1
“As for the criticism in the build-up, you’ll always get that. But we do our talking out on the pitch. What can I say about Kylian? I’m just happy that he’s French.”
France head coach Didier Deschamps
“Mbappe was a real handful out there today. We had planned for a whole range of scenarios, but there’s far more to football than what you see on video analysis. It’s very difficult when a player of his calibre performs as well as he did.”
Argentina head coach Jorge Sampaoli
Stats
The defeat to France was the eighth World Cup knockout stage encounter in which Messi drew a blank. The Argentinian finally broke his duck in the Round of 16 at Qatar 2022™, hitting the opener in the 2-1 victory over Australia.
The average age of the three French goalscorers in the thrilling Round-of-16 bout against Argentina at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ — Griezmann, Pavard and Mbappe.
On his breakaway run that culminated in the penalty for France’s opening goal in the last-16 clash against Argentina, Mbappe made jaws drop around the world as the flying Frenchman clocked up a staggering 37km/hr at the peak of his sprint, leaving the entire Argentinian defence trailing in his wake.
It had been 44 years since Argentina had conceded four goals in a World Cup match. The last team to put the Albiceleste to the sword in such merciless fashion were a Johan Cruyff-inspired Netherlands, who were in unstoppable form during the second group stage of the 1974 FIFA World Cup™, netting four times without reply in the sides’ Group A opener.
Trivia
In keeping with the approach that he has adopted throughout his stellar career, midfield anchorman N’Golo Kante kept a low profile during the post-match celebrations, but his tireless work in the French engine room, particularly to counter Messi’s influence, did not go unnoticed. In fact, French football magazine So Foot used the iconic tune from Joe Dassin’s Les Champs-Elysees to write a song in Kante’s honour, which lives on in the collective memory.
Mbappe’s brace against Argentina meant that he joined Pelé’s as the youngest player to score twice in a World Cup knockout match, but the precocious talent was not done just yet. A fortnight later, in the tournament decider against Croatia, in which the French waltzed to a 4-2 triumph, the then Paris Saint-Germain speedster took another step towards legendary status by becoming the youngest goalscorer in a World Cup final since the Brazilian icon, who took to social media to post the following message in response to the starlet’s dazzling display: “If Kylian keeps equalling my records like this, I may have to dust my boots off again.”
