June 30, 2018. That was the day the world began to understand. If people hadn’t already sat up and taken notice of Mbappe’s exploits in the group stage, they certainly would in the last 16.
It was Kylian Mbappe vs Lionel Messi in what would prove to be a World Cup classic, as Argentina’s disappointing second-placed finish in Group D set up a mouth-watering showdown with France in Kazan in the first knockout round. Prematurely described as a passing of the world’s best torch at the time, this would be the defining game of Mbappe’s career to date, as he showcased his incredible athleticism and devastating finishing ability to usher in a new era of superstars.
It was Mbappe who cracked the game open just 11 minutes in, seizing on the ball deep in his own half after Messi, of all people, had given it away. What followed was a jaw-dropping demonstration of what the teenager was capable of, as he left almost the entire Argentina team in his wake, sprinting out of their clutches and searing into the penalty area before being felled by the hapless Marcos Rojo, who was just trying to keep up.
Antoine Griezmann converted the resulting spot-kick, but a completely unpredictable contest was level again at the hour mark after Angel Di Maria and Benjamin Pavard had exchanged screamers after a deflected Messi shot briefly gave the Albiceleste the lead. But in the space of four minutes, Mbappe took the game by the scruff of the neck and away from Argentina.
On 64 minutes, he controlled a ricocheting ball and somehow engineered space in a crowded penalty before unleashing a fierce left-footed strike that squirmed under the soft wrists of goalkeeper Franco Armani, giving his country a 3-2 lead. With their fans still celebrating, a flowing team move from back to front culminated in Giroud slipping a deft pass into the path of the onrushing 19-year-old, and he fired an unerring first-time finish into the bottom corner to spark pandemonium on the sidelines.
Despite Sergio Aguero’s late consolation, that effort saw Mbappe put the game out of reach of one all-time great in Messi, as he emulated another by becoming the first teenager to score two goals in a World Cup knockout match since a 17-year-old Pele in Sweden in 1958. After 60 long years, the record had finally been matched.
