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For the 15th consecutive game, Sampaoli had named a different line-up. The Argentina manager never quite found the same formation that he wanted to keep to and constantly brought new players into his starting eleven. This time around, he failed to lead his side to the quarterfinals of the 2018 World Cup.
France took the lead through Antoine Griezmann who converted the penalty. Before the break, Argentina equalized through a stunning Angel di Maria long-range shot. According to Opta, his goal was the furthest so far in the campaign. In the 48th minute, the South Americans finally took the lead for the first time in this match. Gabriel Mercado scored from a deflected shot by Lionel Messi. The 31-year-old right back was about to move his leg away in order to allow Messi to hit the target. Unexpectedly, the ball took a deflection and went into the net.
It did not take long for Benjamin Pavard to find the equalizer for his nation. The goal came from an extremely unlikely source, considering the fact that he is a defender. The Stuttgart right-back made a run to the front before he scored a spectacular curling goal.
Mbappe is clearly one of the best players in the tournament. The hot rising star was involved in all the action during the match. He netted two vitals goals in four minutes to dampen the spirits of the Argentines. Sergio Aguero headed his side's third goal of the afternoon, but it was too late to change the result. Sampaoli's seat had already been under huge scrutiny following La Albiceleste's draw with Iceland and loss to Croatia. They barely made it through the group stage and had to thank Marcus Rojo for his late winner against Nigeria.
With the elimination from the tournament, many are expecting Sampaoli to vacate from his position at once. Some have urged him to stay in Russia and avoid returning to his home country for the time being. Clearly, no one is impressed by the 58-year-old and the majority are disappointed with his tactics. Here was how Twitter reacted to his performance in the World Cup.
