Twitter Erupts as France Dump Lionel Messi & Argentina Out of 2018 World Cup
Argentina bowed out of the 2018 World Cup on Saturday, having emerged on the losing end of a 4-3 result against France at the Kazan Arena.
Jorge Sampaoli came into the tournament with many expectations. But their first game - a draw against Iceland - showed just how ill-prepared they were and they were made to scrape their way out of the group stage in their final opening-round match against Nigeria.
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Coming up against France on Saturday, you could tell that La Albiceleste were out of their depth.
Kylian Mabappe won an early penalty which was converted by Antoine Griezmann. But the South American nation would stun their opponents, against the grain, with Angel Di Maria popping up with a worldie from distance ahead of half-time.
Argentina would even go ahead in the second half after Lionel Messi's shot was deflected into the goal by Gabriel Mercado in the 48th minute. And for a moment, it seemed like Sampaoli's side were set to grind out a win.
But Benjamin Pavard had other ideas, hitting his own belter from outside of the box with an insane volley to put the French back in level terms.
That was when Mbappe decided to take over and haul his country the rest of the way.
The precocious 19-year-old sent France ahead with a powerful shot from the left side of the goal after picking up a loose ball and creating a yard of space with an intelligent touch.
The Paris Saint-Germain attacker made it 4-2 with another strike after receiving Olivier Giroud's measured pass in the box that resulted from a quick break that was actually started by Hugo Lloris in his own box.
Argentina, though, would have the final say on the scoring front in stoppage time, with Sergio Aguero, a substitute, getting a close-range header past the French keeper.
But that wasn't to be enough, as the referee's whistle brought an end to proceedings, breaking Argentinian hearts and sending the French into a frenzy.
On to the quarter-finals!
