Dial M for Messi Mbappe

Moscow, June 30 

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France roared back against Argentina to reach the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday as wonderkid Kylian Mbappe sent Lionel Messi home empty-handed following a seven-goal thriller.

The 1998 champions won 4-3 and looked a different side from the one that struggled to find their cutting edge in the group stage, pouring forward with pace and purpose to stretch the ageing Argentine defence in Kazan.

Antoine Griezmann gave France the lead from the penalty spot but the South Americans levelled after a sweet hit from Angel Di Maria and edged ahead shortly after half-time through Gabriel Mercado.

But defender Benjamin Pavard equalised with a thunderous strike to pull France level and once more change the complexion of the game. That set the scene for 19-year-old Mbappe, who netted two goals in four second-half minutes to become the first teenager to score at least twice in a World Cup match since Pele in 1958.

Sergio Aguero gave Argentina late hope but they ran out of time and head home after a rollercoaster ride in Russia that ultimately ends in bitter disappointment for the two-times former champions.

Man of the match Mbappe brushed off the Pele comparisons. “I’m very happy and it’s flattering to be the second teenager (to score twice in the knockout rounds) after Pele but let’s put things in context: Pele is in another category, but it’s good to be among these people,” he said.

Ragged Argentina

Beaten finalists four years ago, Argentina only reached the last-16 by the skin of their teeth after a shambolic group phase and despite a brave effort against France, their ageing squad and lack of balance ultimately caught up with them. Messi, at the age of 31, may have played his last World Cup game in a career curiously unfulfilled at international level despite his astonishing achievements with Barcelona and his multiple individual awards. France will play Uruguay, who beat Portugal 2-1, in the last-8. — AFP

I tried everything to get best out of Messi: Sampaoli

“We have the best player in the world and we had to try to create collective situations to really use that player who can have many brilliant moments. We tried many different tactics — surround him, create space for him... we tried to use everything we had to allow him to do what he can do. Sometimes we managed it, sometimes we didn’t,” Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli said. 

1 This was the first time in a 90-minute World Cup match that the scoreline was 4-3

I was not fearing anything, it’s like in my first career (as a player): as long as a referee hasn’t blown the whistle, anything can happen. When Argentina’s second goal was scored it was a blow... but I was not afraid. — Didier Deschamps, France coach

I don't like the word failure but it's very frustrating. I always believed that Argentina could win, so of course I feel a certain frustration. — Jorge Sampaoli, Argentina coach

Short passes

Salah greets fans who turned up at his doorstep

Cairo: Mohamed Salah, Egypt’s beloved striker, greeted an adoring crowd who turned up at his doorstep after his Cairo address was leaked on Facebook. The Muslim world’s most popular soccer player showed no sign of anger as he received fans Thursday night, posing for photos and signing autographs, according to media reports. Photos circulated online showed dozens of fans appearing outside Salah’s home after his arrival with Egypt’s national team from Russia following a disappointing World Cup showing. The state-run Al Ahram newspaper reported the number of fans kept increasing, reaching the hundreds, and police had to intervene to disperse the crowds. Salah scored two goals, one each in matches against Russia and Saudi Arabia. Recent reports that Salah is considering retiring from international play emerged, sparking controversy. Salah was said to have been angry about being used as a political symbol while the World Cup squad was based in Chechnya. Rather than accuse him of a lack of patriotism, many Egyptians instead supported him, sending out thousands of tweets and posts on social media. 

Moscow closes fan zone due to stormy weather

MOSCOW: Stormy weather on Saturday prompted the authorities in Moscow to close the Russian capital’s official FIFA fan zone, which regularly welcomes up to 25,000 soccer fans watching the World Cup on its giant outdoor screens. Bursts of rain and strong winds replaced weeks of heat and sunshine while the fan zone, a magnet for Russian and foreign soccer fans, stood empty, its entrances shut. 

Colombia ‘not favourites’ against England 

Kazan: Colombia defender Carlos Sanchez has insisted the South American side are not favourites against England, “the country that invented football”, when they meet in the last-16 on Tuesday. The winner of the match between England and Colombia in Moscow will play whoever comes out on top in the clash between Switzerland and Sweden. “We’re not the favourites, we’re playing against the country that invented football,” said 32-year-old Sanchez. “But we have our own weapons and once the game starts the only thing that matters is on the pitch.” 

FIFA fines Russia for discriminatory banner 

MOSCOW: FIFA has fined hosts Russia 10,000 Swiss francs ($10,100) after their fans displayed a discriminatory banner during the country’s 3-0 loss to Uruguay. FIFA also fined Serbia 20,000 Swiss francs for a “political and offensive banner” during their 2-0 loss to Brazil. Mexico were fined 15,000 Swiss francs for crowd disturbance after their fans threw objects during their team’s 3-0 loss to Sweden. Morocco were slapped with a fine of 65,000 Swiss francs for a series of incidents during the 2-2 draw with Spain. 

FIFA backs VAR 

FIFA has declared the video assistant referee system, introduced to the World Cup finals for the first time in Russia, a success. Pierluigi Collina, the chairman of FIFA’s referees committee, said he was pleased with the impact of VAR but that it did not mean all decisions would be perfect. FIFA said VAR crews conducted checks on 335 incidents during the group stage, helping achieve a 99.3 percent rate of correct decisions. — Agencies