N FOR THE KYL
ann had already ed the crossbar with a when he put Les Bleus the 13th minute after a g 60-yard dash by that harked back to Owen 20 years ago. rance youngster was by a challenge from Rojo that could have he Manchester United r an assault charge as yellow card. Messi being shackled by dfield force of nature Golo Kante, Argentina w held on before Angel a brought them level utes before the break. ria’s eyes almost came heir sockets when he
Suddenly all talk of Sampaoli being a dead man walking after a Mbappe announces his arrival on the world stage with a double to defeat Argentina collected possession 30 yards from goal without a Frenchman in the same postcode – and his rifled effort left Hugo Lloris grasping thin air.
And three minutes after the interval, Jorge Sampaoli’s side were ahead when Messi’s unconvincing shot was diverted past Lloris by Gabriel Mercado. dressing room revolt seemed redundant. But it took just nine minutes for Benjamin Pavard to come up with a spectacular response. The France full-back connected with a halfvolley from 20 yards so sweetly that it seemed the ball must be coated in sugar. That was the first of three French goals in the space of 11 minutes as Mbappe once again took centre stage.
In the 63rd minute, after Blaise Matuidi had taken a wild swipe at Lucas Hernandez’s cross in a packed Argentine penalty area, Mbappe pounced on the loose ball to sweep a low shot beneath Franco Armani.
Mbappe’s third goal of the tournament five minutes later was a thing of rare beauty.
The move started with Lloris before Matuidi and Kante worked the ball forward to Olivier Giroud.
The Chelsea striker’s pass to Mbappe was timed to perfection and his low finish matched the assist. Sergio Aguero came off the bench to score in the dying minuteswith a textbook header, but it was too little, too late to save Messi’s dream.
Sampaoli will now return to Buenos Aires for the usual bloodletting.
He said: “This is very painful, especially because the players have made a huge effort.
“They gave everything, but they have not achieved our goal so I am sad and frustrated.
“It is too soon to analyse any mistakes we made, but I’m convinced that Argentine football has very good players and that we can be one of the best teams in the world again.” FRANCE’S Kylian Mbapp the first teenag score at least twi World Cup match Pele’s double for against Swed in the 1958 final.