France defeated Lionel Messi’s Argentina on Saturday to advance to the quarterfinal of the World Cup.
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 defense in Kazan.
Goals by Antoine Griezmann gave France the lead from a penalty, but Angel Di Maria levelled the score soon after with a stunning strike from out of the box.
It was all square at half-time, but Gabriel Mercado scored a few minutes into the second half to give Argentina the edge.
Defender Benjamin Pavard equalized 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 Kylian 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 knock-out 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.
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 either Uruguay or Portugal in the last eight. The two teams face off later in Sochi on Saturday.
Coach Didier Deschamps said France had responded to their critics with a "great" performance to reach the quarterfinals.
"We had to respond (to the critics) and we responded well," he said. "Criticism is always there. But there is truth on the pitch and (the response) came through a strong and quality performance which we delivered tonight. We made Argentina suffer."
"It was a great fixture and a great match," he told TF1. "There were mistakes, obviously. We started badly at 2-1 down but we knew what we needed to do. We could have kept things a bit simpler near the end of the game, though.
"There was a lot of emotion. I am happy for the players who went out to get this qualification for the quarterfinals.
