FIFA World Cup 2018: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo depart as young star Kylian Mbappe shines
The first day of knockouts saw Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo crash out of the World Cup while teenager Kylian Mbappe scored two goals to grab all the attention.
The two most recognizable names in global soccer were eliminated from the World Cup on Saturday. But the first day of knockout matches still had plenty of star power. France's lightning teenager Kylian Mbappe and Uruguay's silky veteran Edinson Cavani each scored two goals as their teams knocked out Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, respectively. (Source: Reuters)
This could have been the last time at the World Cup for both the 33-year-old Ronaldo of Portugal and the 31-year-old Messi of Argentina, and neither got close to a title. (Source: Reuters)
Mbappe is on to the quarterfinals at age 19, where France will face the cagey Uruguay squad led by his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Cavani and Luis Suarez. (Source: Reuters)
Argentina winger Angel Di Maria and France full back Benjamin Pavard fought out a private contest for the best goal of the match with two magnificent long-range strikes. (Source: Reuters)
Di Maria's goal cancelled out Antoine Griezmann's early penalty for France just before the break while Pavard's in the 57th minute levelled the scores at 2-2 after Argentina had edged ahead through Gabriel Mercado. (Source: Reuters)
Edinson Cavani struck a brace of brilliant goals in the last-16 tie, either side of a Pepe header, but despite having the lion's share of possession, Portugal could not break down Uruguay's well-drilled defence a second time. (Source: AP)
Here are the World Cup matches on Sunday: Spain vs Russia Croatia vs Denmark
