AL RAYYAN, Qatar — It felt like one of those seismic World Cup days when both history and the future are being rewritten, or when one era veers sharply into the next. Argentina and France had engaged in an epic round-of-16 duel in Kazan, Russia, that featured seven goals, the inevitable collapse of the flawed South Americans and the emphatic global emergence of Kylian Mbappé, the 19-year-old Parisian phenom whose confidence and control at blazing speed made all the difference.
Following a 4–3 France victory that marked the only time the pending champion would be in any real trouble during the 2018 World Cup, one could easily imagine that when Mbappé shook hands with Lionel Messi and lightly and respectfully embraced him, a metaphorical torch was being passed.
The Argentine icon had looked frustrated and forlorn in Russia. Either he was letting his country down or his country was letting him down—pick your hot take. Somehow, despite Messi’s commitment and incomparable brilliance, international soccer just wasn’t working out for him. Argentina’s trophy drought had reached a quarter century. Messi’s peers were fading and the right coach and culture were elusive.
