Mbappe strikes to send Messi, Argentina crashing out
KAZAN ARENA, Russia: Teenage star Kylian Mbappe struck twice and earned another goal as France finally found their attacking edge to beat Lionel Messi´s Argentina 4-3 and move into the quarter-finals of the World Cup on Saturday.
Billed as Messi´s chance to reignite stuttering Argentina´s hopes, the thrilling last 16 clash in Kazan instead saw 19-year-old Paris Saint-Germain star Mbappe grab the limelight as he became the youngest player since Pele in 1958 to score two goals in a World Cup match.
Embattled Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli had promised an "aggressive, attacking" approach from his side.
But his fears over the superior speed of the French strikers were quickly proven right when Mbappe sprinted from his own half until he was hauled down by Marcos Rojo.
France 1 Argentina 1 at half-time of World Cup last-16 match
KAZAN, Russia: France and Argentina were level at 1-1 at half-time of their World Cup last-16 match on Saturday after Antoine Griezmann scored a penalty and Angel Di Maria equalised.
Teenage French striker Kylian Mbappe was a constant threat to the Argentine defence in Kazan and he won the spot-kick when he was pulled down by Marcos Rojo with just over 10 minutes gone.
Griezmann easily beat Argentine keeper Franco Armani with the penalty.
France had almost gone ahead minutes earlier when Griezmann struck the crossbar from a free-kick.
But Di Maria, who plays for French champions Paris Saint-Germain, unleashed a thunderbolt in the 41st minute when France defenders gave him too much space.
Giroud in, Dembele out as France take on Messi´s Argentina
KAZAN ARENA, Russia: Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud will spearhead France´s attack in their last-16 World Cup match against Argentina on Saturday as Didier Deschamps made six changes from the line-up he fielded in the final group match.
France reached the quarter-finals in Brazil four years ago but Deschamps is under pressure to take his star-studded side further in Russia, with former teammate and ex-Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane cited as a potential replacement.
Deschamps opted to deploy the same team in Kazan that eked out a precious 1-0 win over Peru in the group stages.
Barcelona midfielder Ousmane Dembele starts on the bench, with Deschamps opting to line up Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe, Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann and Juventus player Blaise Matuidi behind Giroud.
Messi and Ronaldo gear up for World Cup knockout phase
MOSCOW: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi take centre stage as the World Cup shifts into high gear at the weekend with the start of the knockout matches in the loaded top half of the draw.
Football heavyweights France, Argentina, Portugal and Brazil are all clustered in one section of the competition, with only Spain among recent winners in the other half.
The unbalanced nature of the knockout phase sparked debate ahead of Thursday´s England-Belgium group match -- was it better to win and enter the tougher side of the draw or lose and face potentially easier fixtures down the line?
In the event, third-ranked Belgium won, adding even more firepower to the top half, while if England can get past Colombia they will fancy their chances of reaching a potential semi-final against 2010 winners Spain.
The first phase in Russia featured just one goalless draw and already a record number of penalties, with the video assistant referee (VAR) often in the spotlight.
Of the half-dozen winners of the trophy since 1970, Germany have gone home in the biggest shock of the tournament by far while Italy never even qualified for Russia.
The standout last-16 tie on paper pits France against Messi and Argentina, two teams who laboured through the group stage.
France are packed with firepower, boasting Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud, but they have failed to click so far, finding the net just three times in three matches -- one of those was a penalty and another an own goal.
Moscow: FIFA said it had no plans to change its fair play criteria that allowed Japan to qualify for the last 16 of the World Cup at the expense of Senegal in controversial circumstances.
Japan lost 1-0 to Poland on Thursday but survived to become the only Asian side to qualify for last 16 of the World Cup in Russia -- and the first team ever to progress thanks to FIFA's new disciplinary tie-breaker rule.
England hold no fear for World Cup last 16 opponents Colombia, said the South American side's coach Jose Pekerman, who is relishing the prospect of the "full on, to-the-death" knockout phase of the tournament.
Tunisia failed to reach the knockout stage of the World Cup at the fifth time of asking in Russia and coach Nabil Maaloul says they will continue to struggle on the biggest stage without drastic changes to the game in the country.
The odds on England lifting their second World Cup title have improved despite their loss against Belgium in their final group game on Thursday, Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has said.
This is a live blog for the Fifa World Cup 2018 which is being updated round the clock.
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