The knockout phase of the World Cup couldn’t have got off to a more high-profile encounter than France vs Argentina. And boy, did it live up to its billing!
France and Argentina battled it out in a World Cup classic as the game went right down to the wire and had the spectators pinned to the edge of their seats.
France took the lead in the first half as Griezmann converted from the spot in the 13th minute. Angel Di Maria restored parity with a peach of a goal from 35 yards out. Mercado scored a rather ridiculous goal in the 48th minute to put Argentina in front.
However, France plugged away subsequently and a sensational strike from youngster Pavard brought things back to level pegging in the 57th minute.
7 minutes later, Kylian Mbappe got the goal that he deserved after a scramble unfolded in the penalty box. Mbappe would then extend France’s lead with a fantastic first-time finish to the bottom corner.
As it looked set to finish that way, Lionel Messi found Sergio Aguero inside the box with a perfect early ball and the Manchester City striker nodded it home to keep the game alive till the very last second.
However, the final whistle blew shortly afterwards, confirming France’s progress to the quarter-finals and Argentina’s unceremonious exit from the World Cup.
Lionel Messi will not have his World Cup dream come true this time around.