I'm no Pele'

The World Cup-winning French team returned home to a heroes' welcome yesterday, parading down the Champs-Elysees as hundreds of thousands of cheering fans gave a raucous welcome to the country's newest idols.

France overcame a determined Croatia to win 4-2 in Sunday's final in Russia, with teenager Kylian Mbappe applying the coup de grace and cementing his place as a new global superstar at the age of just 19.

Millions of fans in France then celebrated into the night, honking car horns and flying the tricolour flag while the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe were lit up in the national colours of blue, white and red.

Crowds began converging early Monday on the Champs-Elysees, the gathering point for all national celebrations, to catch a glimpse of a returning squad which has captured the country's imagination.

As the celebrating players descended on an open-air bus under heavy police guard -- some of the 2,000 officers deployed in the capital -- nine jets from the Patrouille de France, the air force's acrobatic unit, did an honorary flyover trailing blue, white and red smoke.

After leaving the Champs-Elysees, the players quickly changed into custom-made blue suits before being welcomed at the Elysee Palace by President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, who were also decked out in blue for the occasion.

Macron previously promised the Legion of Honour for the victors' "exceptional services" to the country, an award already given to the legendary team which won France's first World Cup title in 1998.

The first couple then posed with the team as they sang the Marseillaise national anthem and waved scarves for a joyous group photo, before heading inside for a private meeting.

"Thanks to you all!" Macron told the team after gathering again outside. "This team is beautiful because you are united!"

Despite a voice nearly failing him, Pogba then proved himself a showman off the field as well as on by leading the guests in an impromptu celebratory rap punctuated by "Allez les Bleus!"

Nearly 3,000 guests were invited to the reception in the Elysee gardens, including around 1,000 youths from local football clubs such as Bondy, the gritty Paris suburb whose towering housing projects produced Mbappe.

Afterwards guests would be treated to the beats of DJ Snake, who has worked with pop stars including Lady Gaga and is part of the Pardon My French collective of French DJs.

Macron had already celebrated with the team on Sunday -- even doing "dab" dance moves with players in a video that has gone viral -- after attending the final in Moscow.

Later, the team were expected to attend a dinner in their honour at the posh Hotel du Crillon.

In Paris, the metro system has temporarily renamed six of its stations in honour of the key players, with the Victor Hugo stop -- named after the famed 19th-century writer -- becoming Victor Hugo Lloris after the team's goalkeeper.

Two stations were rebaptised in tribute to France coach Didier Deschamps, who captained the national side to its first World Cup victory, won on home soil in 1998.

"There are two things that matter -- one is that these 23 players are now together for life, whatever happens, and also that from now on they will not be the same again, because they are world champions," a champagne-soaked Deschamps said Sunday.

Macron will be relieved that joyous and occasionally chaotic celebrations across France on Sunday night passed off without any major incident following a string of terror attacks in France since 2015.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia is almost over. We've been treated to a tournament full of fantastic goals, heartbreaking upsets and plenty of underdog triumphs that add drama to the greatest sporting event in the world. Now that it's drawing to a close - what do the stars of each nation drive, and what car would they be if they were vehicles on the streets of Dhaka?

Lionel Messi might drive a Lamborghini Huracan, but if the Argentine superstar had been a vehicle on the clogged up streets of Dhaka, he'd probably be a Pathao rider with 2 helmets and defensive armour. He'd be super fast, and his superior tactics would ensure that he gets past all obstacles. 

England made strides this tournament with captain Harry Kane. The Tottenham star drives a Bentley Continental GT, although here, he would be a Dhaka-Sylhet bus. A calm and collected vehicle that's secretly hiding the firepower to get you to the London of Bangladesh on time.

Cristiano Ronaldo, another contender for greatest of all time, earns massive paychecks at Real Madrid that can afford him a Bugatti Chiron. He's fast and capable of split-second direction changes, much like the Legunas we see around the city. He would go to great lengths to get the job done. 

Atlético Madrid and France striker Antoinne Griezmann is a big fan of McLaren, and sports the top dog P1 as his chariot. His immense work-rate on the field as he comes back on defence go in-line with Dhaka's favourite car, the Toyota Corolla X, which is absolutely everywhere.

Neymar still drives the Audi R8 V10 from his Audi sponsored Barcelona days. Now at PSG, the Brazil forward has made headlines this World Cup for all the wrong reasons. Thus, he would definitely be a mishuk or CNG - prone to falling over.

Arsenal's German winger Mesut Ozil pays tribute to his nationality with his Mercedes SLS AMG, but his sure-footed sprints across large swathes of field are similar to the Volkswagen Beetle's old-school yet surprising performance. Doesn't have the most power, but faster than it appears.

Brazil took a firm step onto the World Cup quarterfinals when they beat Mexico 2-0 at the Samara Arena yesterday.

After an evenly fought first half, Neymar gave the five-time world champions the lead sliding in from close before Roberto Firmino came off the bench to stab in the insurance in the 88th minute. Both goals were scored from five yards, from where it is very hard to miss the target.

The defeat meant Mexico made their exit from the round of 16 for a seventh straight time and despite their magnificent 1-0 win against Germany in the group stage, their dream of a World Cup win against the Selecao remain unfulfilled.

It was a high-quality game and despite playing in searing heat under the spaceship-like giant metal structure, both teams played with pace. 

Interestingly it was Neymar who served the first salvo in the fourth minute of the game. The star striker sent down a scorcher that Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa somehow managed to fist away despite being blind-sighted.

But after that Mexico took the game to the Brazilians with their forwards Carlos Vela and Hirving Lozano, operating wide, simply tore through rightback Fagner, looking like a fish out of water especially against Vela, who frantically switched ends. Vela also forced Filipe Luis to go for a risky tackle and was booked in the 40th minute, which means he will miss the next game as he was already on a yellow card.

Mexico got their first real chance in the 14th minute. Lozano took control of a long ball down the right side in expert fashion before sending a perfect cross but Javier Hernandez was too late in coming through to take advantage.

After absorbing the pressure in the first half, which ended with ball possession evenly split, the men in the gold shirts launched a blistering attack only to be denied by Ochoa, who stood tall under the bar. Neymar broke through the defence but his close-range shot was blocked by Ochoa in the 25th minute. One minute later Coutinho fired a shot from just inside the box over the crossbar. Mexico defender Edson Alvarez brilliantly tackled Neymar in the box, when the Brazilian superstar almost opened up space after being fed by an overlapping Fagner.

Brazil superstar Neymar is the toast of his teammates after he combined with Willian (not pictured) to give the Selecao their opening goal in the World Cup round of 16 clash against Mexico at the Samara Arena yesterday. Photo:Reuters

Ochoa then palmed a Gabriel Jesus shot as both teams headed in to cool their burning feet after a blistering half.

Mexico could have scored early after the break had Jesus Gallardo not fired a left-footer over the bar when he had the better option of feeding Vela.

Brazil finally ended the evening's duck in the 51st minute. Neymar backheeled to Willian on the edge of the Mexico penalty box and continued a curling run into the box. Willian drove through the penalty box and drilled the ball low and hard across the face of goal. Both Jesus and Neymar were chasing it and Neymar got it with a sliding shot.

Brazil were actually hardly troubled by Mexico after the goal and were surging more with Willian operating down the flank brilliantly. Brazil's second goal was a combined effort of two fresh legs and the brilliance of Neymar. Fernandinho, who came in for Paulinho, sent a through ball to Neymar who galloped down the flank before releasing a neat minus which Firmino, coming on as a substitute for Willian, stabbed it from close. It was a tough game for Brazil, who however showed rigidity in defence and the tenacity to withstand pressure, which is a hallmark of a team capable of going all the way.

The only disappointing aspect of the game was yet another Neymar playacting. He screamed in pain when he had a soft touch with Mexico's Miguel Layun in the touchline. Layun was actually trying to collect the ball from Neymar with his hand so that he could take a quick throw. But the way Neymar reacted it was as if he was kicked, which was not the case. He was jeered by the Mexican fans after that, something he can't complain about.

Click here to see the detail view of the matches of FIFA Wold Cup 2018. 

https://www.thedailystar.net/fifa-world-cup-2018/matches

France’s Kylian Mbappe became the youngest player since legendary Pele to score two goals in a World Cup. While Pele did it at the age of just 17, Mbappe has managed the feat at the age of 19.

He showed terrifying pace as neither the Argentina back line nor the ineffective and perhaps aging midfield of Enzo Perez and Javier Mascherano were able to contend with the skill and guile of the French forward.

Argentina played a high defensive line and it allowed Mbappe to exploit the space behind the defence. Marcos Rojo was the first to suffer as Mbappe picked up the ball after a loose ball control from Argentina midfield. He unleashed fury, bursting through a couple of tackles before taking on Rojo.

Rojo fouled the young Frenchman in the penalty area and Antoine Griezmann struck from the penalty spot to hand France the lead. Rojo, who picked up a yellow card for the tackle, was duly substituted at half time -- another way Mbappe made his mark in the game.

Argentina got lucky when Nicolas Tagliafico was shrewd enough to commit his foul just a few metres outside the penalty area after Paul Pogba had set Mbappe off with a long through ball to chase.

The trick to having a high line is to have a compact defense and midfield line. Argentina coach floundered in that department when he played Mascherano and Perez in midfield. Mbappe can make quick players look slow. Against Enzo Perez and Mascherano, who was one or two step behind the play on many occasions, Mbappe became a nightmare.

For his next two goals, Mbappe showed his pace over short distances. Argentina’s poor defensive discipline, let France run at them again and again, with Mbappe moving the ball quicker than anyone in the area for the third.

His second was a back-to-front team move finished by the razor-sharp teenager as Argentina midfield showed no awareness of defensive responsibility and the French striker finished off with ease.

Argentina had the chance to play with a midfield that atleast could close down spaces faster. Giovani Lo Celso, who plies his trade with French outfit Paris Saint-Germain is teammates with the teenage Mbappe. Surely he knew more about keeping track of Mbappe than an aging Mascherano. Lo Celso did not feature for a single minute at this World Cup. France exploited the space they were given and that is why they went through to the quarterfinal after a seven-goal thriller at Kazan.

France captain Hugo Llrois said before the game that Mbappe would have more space than in the first three games.

“Kylian has huge quality and potential, he's fast, explosive and needs space. I think [against Argentina] he'll have more space than the first three matches and as we go on in the competition the level will step up and will have less room for mistakes.

"Mbappe has the potential to make the difference in difficult moments,” he said.

French captain was proven right as Mbappe ran riot to seal victory for France as Argentina were given a reality check.