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Well, that must be the shortest fairy tale run in the history of all fairy tale runs! In a thrilling encounter that saw 7 goals being scored and 8 yellow cards being awarded, France held on to their nerves to move on to the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
After raising up people from the dead with fake promises of being good enough, the Albiceleste surrendered a 2-1 lead to lose out by a goal. The match saw two bangers being scored on either side of half-time, but in the end Argentina just did not have enough in their locker to pull off anything dramatic at the end.
As always, there were a few key battles that went a long way in deciding the final outcome of the game. Here's a look at 3 such battles.
#1 Lionel Messi vs N'Golo Kante
Sampaoli (or whoever really was in-charge of the Argentinian team) decided to play Messi as a false nine for this game, resting both Aguero and Higuain - and I have to say, it didn't pay off as good as it should have on paper.
Sure, Messi might have gotten 2 assists to his name but he was wasted as a false nine, instead of the number 10 role that he usually plays. Very often, Messi had to drop deep to help out in the midfield, leaving the attack empty.
Most of the time it looked like Argentina had no reason to play him as the false nine, when they had two perfectly capable strikers on the bench. It was an experiment that shouldn't have been attempted at such a big stage.
Kante was his usual energetic self, but there was not a lot he could stop with regard to any of the three goals. He put in a few valuable tackles (3 on the night), but because of France trying to take the game to Argentina, it was not one of his more prominent performances.
This marks the end of Messi's WC dream, as we do not know if he will play the next one. Messi was on and off through the tournament, and now it is time for him to permanently be forgotten in this edition.
#2 Paul Pogba vs Ever Banega
After his magic in the previous match against Nigeria, a lot was expected of Banega and he was touted as the potential break-out star for the rest of the tournament. Unfortunately for him and Argentina, Pogba dominated the midfield so hard that Banega was barely noticeable.
French fans, not unlike the Manchester United fans - have a love-hate relationship with Pogba - they want him gone one moment, and then he becomes a cult hero the next. Tonight was one of the latter ones, where you look at the money he was paid for his transfer from Juventus and think it was a steal.
This was one of Pogba's strongest performances ever - literally and metaphorically. He used his physique to great effect, shielding the ball from Di Maria on the wings and from Mascherano in the midfield.
His passing was also on fire - a peach of a delivery that Giroud failed to capitalise on - and completed 2 dribbles as against Banega's 1. He was also useful in the air, winning two headers but Argentina once again erred there by not playing a proper striker.
As for Banega, it was a short-lived tryst with destiny, as it is time for him to leave Russia with his head held down. A few more performances like this from Pogba on the other hand will elevate his place in the United and French hearts.
#3 Kylian Mbappe vs Marcos Rojo
The one that really decided the entire game. It was up to Rojo to put a stop to Mbappe's pace on the ball, and it is safe to say that last game's saviour couldn't do much saving this time around.
Every time Mbappe touched the ball, he was a danger to the Argentine defense - and that is no exaggeration. It was he who set up the first goal - a dizzying run from his own half to the Argentine box, before Rojo tripped him for a clear penalty.
That was just a sign of things to come. The second half saw the withdrawal of Rojo - who had received a yellow card for fouling Mbappe a second time, and probably as an insurance against a second yellow card - and in his place came Fazio, to shoulder the job of not catching Mbappe.
Two blitzkrieg runs into the box, two goals and two team hurdles later, Mbappe had the last laugh. To imagine that he is just 19 and already has 3 WC goals to his name is at times hard to believe. But that is the glorious truth. The future of French football is in safe, at the very least, extremely fast - hands.
