France Defeats Argentina - Advances to Quarterfinals

France and Argentina met yesterday for the first game in the final 16 at this year’s World Cup. With a 4-3 victory over the South Americans, France became the first to advance to the quarterfinals, and for Kylian Mbappe, it was a match he’ll not soon forget.

At 19, Mbappe is one of the youngest competing in the World Cup, and with fast feet, he used his foot skills to score twice in a period of five minutes for France and all but secured their spot in the quarterfinals. France will next play against Uruguay after they defeated Portugal 2-1 to move on to the quarterfinals as well. With betting action heating up, it is a perfect time for Canadian bettors looking for action on the World Cup to take a closer look at top-rated Canadian sportsbooks who are running promotions for the quarter, semi and finals of this years World Cup.

Commenting after the match, Mbappe, who has scored three goals during his time in Russia said,

“Of course, as I’ve already and always said, in the World Cup you have all the top level players so it is an opportunity to show what you can do and what your abilities are. There is no better place than a World Cup.”

The young player proved to be a thorn in the side of Argentina creating threat after threat to their defence as a result of his superior speed and foot skills. This was particularly evident in the second half as Mbappe became only the second teenager in the history of the World Cup to score goals in a knockout match. The other was Pele in 1958, who was 17 at the time.

When advised on the accomplishment, Mbappe said,

“It is flattering to be the second one after Pele but let’s put things in context. Pele is another category, but it’s good to be among the players to score in knockout matches.”

Full-time! Les Bleus are through to the quarter-finals! 🇫🇷🤜#FiersdetreBleus #WorldCup #FRAARG pic.twitter.com/gUfSCWHq59

— French Team (@FrenchTeam) June 30, 2018

The match was tied 2-2 when Mbappe scored his first goal to give France the lead by one. This came 64 minutes into the game when the French player shot the ball towards the net at a tight angle that went under the Argentinian goalkeeper of Franco Armani. Only four minutes later, Mbappe managed to do what many thought impossible as he sent the ball into the goal past Armani to make it 4-2 for France.

The star of the game was also involved in helping France score their first goal after the French team applied an early bout of pressure in what saw Mbappe awarded a penalty after he was taken down by Marcos Rojo. France put Antoine Griezmann up to the task of taking the shot, and with Armani going the wrong way, France led by one.

Match #50 | #FRA 4-3 #ARG #FRAARG pic.twitter.com/h8iw5HD1sR

— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) June 30, 2018

Didier Deschamps, the coach for France, commented that the French team is younger but answered the call. He added,

“It was not easy because we were leading and then there was an equalizer. Then they led 2-1, but we kept fighting. There is an excellent mentality in this group and we did everything to go further. We couldn’t miss it and we did win it.”

“It is too soon to analyze concrete mistakes we might have made. I am sure there might have been mistakes.”

Scoring for Argentina was Gabriel Mercado, Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria. For Argentina’s Lionel Messi, his last minute set up that lead to Gabriel Mercado wasn’t enough. The top-rated player has yet to see an international title won for Argentina – weather he will depend on if he joins the team in 2022.