Argentina and Portugal first two teams to be knocked out in the knockout round.
The first round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup ‘Round-of-16’ matches ended with defeat to both Argentina and Portugal.
CONMEBOL and UEFA went head-to-head today and finished with on even terms. France eliminated Lionel Messi’s Argentina and Uruguay eliminated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have likely participated in their last World Cup.
Should both players decide to walk away from their national team, Lionel Messi will walk away from the World Cup with his highest honor as a 2014 silver medalist and a FIFA Golden Ball winner, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s best run in the tournament history will be a fourth-place finish in the 2006 World Cup.
Day 15
France vs Argentina
Date – June 30, 2018
Venue – Kazan Arena
Goal scorers – (France) Antoine Griezmann 13’(pen) Benjamin Pavard 57’ Kylian Mbappe 64’ 68’
Goal scorers – (Argentina) Angel Di Maria 41’ Gabriel Mercado 48’
Uruguay vs Portugal
Date – June 30, 2018
Venue – Sochi
Goal scorers – (Uruguay) Edinson Cavani 7’ 62’
Goal scorers – (Portugal) Pepe 55’
Paris St. Germain attack was potent. Kylian Mbappe, Edinson Cavani, and Angel Di Maria played a key role for the respective nations.
Kylian Mbappe rose to the occasion for France.
Argentina’s defensive problems and an aging squad were exposed when the pace of a youthful Kylian Mbappe opened them up for a variety of French attacks.
Argentina started the match without an outright striker, making France very comfortable in the back.
After Kylian Mbappe contributed 2 goals to eliminate Argentina, his PSG teammate Edinson Cavani also scored two to kick Portugal out of the tournament.
Uruguay conceded their first goal in the 2018 World Cup, but Edinson Cavani made sure his side finished with 4 wins out of 4 matches.
