France vs Argentina is one World Cup fixture that will live in memory forever, for the seven-goal thriller at the Kazan Arena was all that it promised and much, much more.
Obviously not if you were an Albiceleste supporter, but for neutrals it was a footballing delight in every sense of the word.
Kylian Mbappe’s superlative performance took your breath away, but there were plenty of outstanding performers from both sides.
Here are The Statesman’s player ratings from the first pre-quarter tie of the 2018 FIFA World Cup:
France
Hugo Lloris
Could he have done more for Di Maria’s strike?
Perhaps he was unsighted, but the France custodian was beaten all ends up anyhow. Powerless to prevent the second.
Rating: 6/10
Lucas Hernandez
Tireless display from the young fullback, who seems to be getting better with every game in Russia.
Pavard’s strike was something special, but credit must be given to Hernandez for applying the assist.
Rating: 7/10
Raphael Varane
Shackled Messi fairly well, but that’s not saying much as Argentina didn’t look threatening for most parts.
Rating: 6/10
Samuel Umtiti
Should have closed down Di Maria better for the equaliser, but apart from that, the Barcelona man took care of Messi and Co.
Rating: 6/10
Benjamin Pavard
Mbappe may take the plaudits for the performance of the match and Di Maria for goal of the tie, but Pavard’s strike was no less special.
Got cautioned towards the end, but it was by and large, an extremely assured display from the 22-year-old.
Rating: 7/10
N’Golo Kante
Tireless as usual, shielded his defence . His ability to launch counters at pace is seriously underrated.
Rating: 8/10
Paul Pogba
Flashes of his quality were visible, but too intermittent for a player of his calibre.
Still, did the job asked of him when his side didn’t have the ball.
Rating: 6/10
Kylian Mbappe
Take a bow. Still only 19, but you get what the fuss is all about.
Rating: 10/10
Antoine Griezmann
Put in the shade by Mbappe, but a solid display on the whole. Nerveless penalty.
Rating: 7/10
Blaise Matuidi
Did the dirty job of blocking Argentina’s right side with minimum fuss.
Still, considering his advanced position, more application in the final third is expected.
Rating: 6/10
Olivier Giroud
France’s leading man for the past three games now, Giroud has to do more if Didier Deschamps’ men are to progress further.
His through ball for Mbappe’s second was inch-perfect.
Rating: 7/10
Substitutes
Corentin Tolisso
Replaced the fading Matuidi and did a decent job to see out the game.
Rating: 6/10
Nabil Fekir
Came on with seven minutes left in the tie.
Rating: N/A
Florian Thauvin
Deschamps used him to see out the clock as he played only a minute of regular time.
Rating: N/A
Argentina
Franco Armani
Mbappe’s first could have been avoided for sure. Not a very solid showing from the shot-stopper.
Rating: 5/10
Gabriel Mercado
Was in the right place to turn home Messi’s shot, but on the whole, the 31-year-old struggled.
Rating: 6/10
Nicolas Otamendi
Had a stinker and not for the first time. Lucky to remain on the pitch and that’s not a first either.
Rating: 4/10
Marcos Rojo
After his heroics against Nigeria, Rojo was brought crashing down to earth by Mbappe.
Hauled off at half-time and rightly so, otherwise might have been sent in for an early bath before the hour-mark.
Rating: 3/10
Nicolas Tagliafico
Another Argentina defender to have a difficult outing.
Rating: 5/10
Ever Banega
Couldn’t quite affect the game as he would have wanted to, but did control the tempo with his smart passing.
Rating: 6/10
Javier Mascherano
Can see why Barcelona offloaded him, is too old to be representing his country at the biggest stage.
Rating: 4/10
Angel Di Maria
Probably the only player to cause France problems, Di Maria was outstanding and deserved to go home with more than just a golazo to his name.
Rating: 8/10
Enzo Perez
Hardworking display, but where was the end product?
Rating: 5/10
Lionel Messi
Muted by his stratospheric standards, this is not the way a legend of the game should bow out of the World Cup.
Rating: 5/10
Cristian Pavon
In hindsight, everything is easy to judge, but Pavon definitely shouldn’t have started.
Rating: 5/10
Substitues
Federico Fazio
Brought on for Rojo at half-time, not sure if that was the right decision for the former Spurs man was all over the place.
Rating: 4/10
Sergio Aguero
Got the goal he was sent on for, just that it was too late in the tie to make a real difference.
Rating: 7/10
Maximiliano Meza
Rating: N/A