Had Argentina and Portugal both won their ties against France and Uruguay, respectively, they would have set up a quarter-final meeting, which would have meant that Messi and Ronaldo were to face each other at a World Cup for the first time in history.

Messi's Argentina, however, were unable to quell a rampant France side who had finally found their feet at the World Cup and could only watch as Kylian Mbappe scored two goals in an eventual 4-3 thriller of a win. 

Les Bleus opened the scoring through an Antoine Griezmann penalty before Angel Di Maria levelled the scoring – and briefly led before France hit back through Benjamin Pavard and a Mbappe masterclass.

The loss meant that Messi has never been able to score in the knockout phase of a World Cup. 

Sergio Aguero netted in stoppage time to make the score 4-3, but it wasn't enough, leading Messi to experience heartbreak with his national side yet again.

France knock out Messi's Argentina in World Cup thriller

Kylian Mbappé scored two goals in four minutes as France fought back from a goal down to seal a thrilling 4-3 win over Argentina on Saturday and book a place in the World Cup quarter-finals.
The tournament’s first knockout match had been billed as Lionel Messi's chance to reignite the hopes of a stuttering Argentine squad.

Instead, the pulsating last-16 clash in Kazan saw 19-year-old Paris Saint-Germain star Mbappé become the youngest player since Pelé in 1958 to score two goals in a World Cup match.

Casting aside the cautious approach from their first three games, France finally found their attacking edge and confirmed their status as one of the World Cup favourites.