Croatia rolls past Argentina, France wins

At the World Cup, Croatia hammered Argentina, 3-0, putting Lionel Messi and company on the verge of elimination. France edges Peru, and Denmark and Australia battle to a stalemate.

• After sweeping aside Lionel Messi and Argentina at the World Cup, Croatia’s next challenge is to stay grounded. The 3-0 victory over Argentina was one of the most compelling performances of the tournament so far, taking the Croatians through to the knockout stages for only the second time and the first since 1998. Now, Croatia expects this team to at least match the achievements of the celebrated ’98 group, which reached the semifinals in its first World Cup before losing to eventual champion France. The first objective, progressing from the group, has been achieved in Russia. “We are ecstatic about it (but) ... we should go game by game,” Croatia captain Luka Modric said. “Let’s not get euphoric. Let’s keep our feet firmly on the ground.” It will be hard for Croatians not to start dreaming after Modric’s spectacular long-range strike helped humble Argentina, a two-time world champion which has arguably the world’s best player in Messi. Croatia got a lucky break when Argentina goalkeeper Willy Caballero gifted it the first goal with a blunder. But Modric’s superb second, and a third from Ivan Rakitic in injury time, sent Croatia through. • Fast, exciting and now the youngest scorer in France’s World Cup history. Kylian Mbappe is the one. At 19 years and 183 days, Mbappe became the youngest player to score for France’s national team on soccer’s biggest stage. And his reward was leading his squad into the round of 16 with a 1-0 victory over Peru. “I’ve always said that the World Cup is a dream for any player,” said Mbappe, who was born a few months after France won the 1998 title. “It is a dream come true and I hope I will have more like this.” With two wins from two matches in Group C, France is through to the next round with a match to spare. Peru was eliminated. • Mile Jedinak has a knack for penalty kicks and his strategy is beyond simple. “Just to get that ball in the back in the net,” the Australia captain said after converting from the spot to give Australia a 1-1 draw against Denmark and new life at the World Cup. The 38th-minute penalty was set up after Denmark forward Yussuf Poulsen was called for a handball following a video review. Poulsen was also cautioned by the referee and will be suspended for the team’s final group match against France because of yellow card accumulation. The goal was Jedinak’s second from the spot at this year’s World Cup, and it snapped Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel’s five-match streak of shutouts for the Danes.

RICARDO MAZALAN — ASSOCIATED PRESS Croatia’s Luka Modric, right, celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal against Argentina on June 18 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.