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Agence France-Presse

Step aside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo … there is a new group of kids on the block ready to seize the limelight and form the next generation of global megastars.
French teenager Kylian Mbappe announced himself in dramatic fashion on Saturday, overshadowing Messi as France beat Argentina 4-3 in the World Cup last 16.
That took his goal tally for the tournament to three – two behind England talisman Harry Kane and one behind Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku.
Messi and Ronaldo, captain of the Portugal side beaten 2-1 by Uruguay, also on Saturday, had been on a quarter-final collision course but the closest they will now come to each other in Russia is the airport departure lounge.

While they have set goal records tumbling both in Europe and Spain year after year, amazingly neither has ever been able to find the net in a World Cup knockout match in a combined 14 games.
For all Messi’s brilliance at club level with Barcelona, it appears the 2014 final defeat to Germany is the closest he will ever come to winning the World Cup.




Fifa World Cup: Edinson Cavani fires Uruguay into quarter-finals as Cristiano Ronaldo dream ends
Real Madrid forward Ronaldo, a European champion with Portugal two years ago, will be 37 by the time the next global showpiece rolls around – meaning it is unlikely he will improve on a run to the semi-finals in 2006.
With the exits of the pair, both five-time world players of the year, confirmed on the same day, the stage is clear for a handful of young, hungry pretenders to seize the spotlight.

Leading the charge is the 19-year-old Mbappe, who achieved a feat no player had accomplished in 60 years, becoming the first teenager to score twice in a World Cup match since a 17-year-old Pele in 1958.
“I’m very happy, and it’s flattering to be compared to a great player like Pele,” said Mbappe, born a few months after France won the 1998 World Cup.
Fifa World Cup: Kylian Mbappe double sees France past Argentina in last-16 thriller
“But he’s in another category. Still, it’s great to join the list of players that have achieved such feats.”
The Paris Saint-Germain striker, who as a child had posters of Ronaldo plastered across his bedroom wall, has three goals in three starts in Russia.
He finds himself trailing England striker Kane in the race for the Golden Boot, but his terrorising of the Argentina defence underlined his growing menace. He’s not so much as arriving as arrived.

After four straight seasons with 20 or more goals in the Premier League, Kane is now showing his ability on the biggest stage of all, leading England’s attack and captaining the side.
He struck twice in an opening win over Tunisia before bagging a hat-trick in his next outing and is the key figure for a youthful England side.
Uproar after Russian tabloid calls female soccer fans ‘whores’ who use World Cup to chase foreigners
“It’s going well, there’s still a long way to go, the most important thing is winning games,” the 24-year-old Tottenham star said.
Colombia midfielder Carlos Sanchez described Kane as an “emblematic player” ahead of their meeting with England in the last 16 on Tuesday.

Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku is also enjoying a breakout World Cup campaign, answering his critics in resounding style after a disappointing campaign in Brazil four years ago.
The 25-year-old scored twice in successive matches in Group G, the first player from any nation to do so at the tournament since Diego Maradona in 1986.
He is Belgium’s record scorer with 40 goals in 71 appearances and will be central to their hopes as Roberto Martinez attempts to finally get the best out of a golden generation.


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Fifa World Cup 2018

Fifa World Cup: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo exits signal changing of the guard

Argentina’s Lionel Messi (left) and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo are both going home. Photo: AFP

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - World Cup - Round of 16 - Uruguay vs Portugal - Fisht Stadium, Sochi, Russia - June 30, 2018 Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo reacts REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

TOPSHOT - Belgium's forward Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Russia 2018 World Cup Group G football match between Belgium and Tunisia at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow on June 23, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - NO MOBILE PUSH ALERTS/DOWNLOADS

Argentina's forward Lionel Messi congratulates France's forward Kylian Mbappe (R) at the end of the Russia 2018 World Cup round of 16 football match between France and Argentina at the Kazan Arena in Kazan on June 30, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Luis Acosta / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - NO MOBILE PUSH ALERTS/DOWNLOADS

Soccer Football - World Cup - Group G - England vs Panama - Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia - June 24, 2018 England's Harry Kane celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Carlos Barria

World Cup wallchart 2018 PDF free download: last 16 bracket predictor with fixtures, dates and kick off times for knockout stages

A replica of the World Cup trophy is brandished by a football fan at Russia 2018. Photo: AFP

World Cup bracket

Sport

Football

Two of the game’s greatest players miss out on World Cup glory again for perhaps the final time as France’s Kylian Mbappe steps forward into the spotlight


Cristiano Ronaldo

Lionel Messi

Fifa World Cup: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo exits signal changing of the guard

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Two of the game’s greatest players miss out on World Cup glory again for perhaps the final time as France’s Kylian Mbappe steps forward into the spotlight

Two of the game’s greatest players miss out on World Cup glory again for perhaps the final time as France’s Kylian Mbappe steps forward into the spotlight