No more second chances

You will get 90 minutes, then another 30 minutes if required. And if a result is not ensured after that a shootout will decide who will live to fight another day. The loser will head home as there are no second chances to rectify mistakes that teams enjoyed in the group stages.

France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris summed up the context aptly when, attending a pre-match press briefing, he said: “We should make all the efforts possible to leave the pitch without any regrets. Each pass, each kick, each throw-in may be the last one in the competition. So, it should give us additional strength. We should go beyond our limits from an individual and collective point of view, particularly with the kind of opponent we will fight against. We have to be full of energy and rely on our collective solidity and use it for tomorrow.”

Unfortunately, after the explosive battle one of the two former world champions will have to leave the theatre of dreams. Will it be Kylian Mbappe or will it be the world's best player Lionel Messi? The head-to-head record suggests that Messi's Argentina will once again prevail after two victories against the French in the World Cup. But World Cup pedigree has so far counted for little in a tournament where holders Germany crashed out in the group stage.

Besides, both Argentina and France have failed to live up to their lofty standards in the first round. Despite finishing top of Group C, France were heavily criticised for their performance against Denmark in a 0-0 draw.

Argentina had an even more turbulent group phase. Their World Cup hopes suffered a big blow when they lost to Croatia 3-0 after a disappointing 1-1 draw against Iceland. They just managed to sneak through to the knockout phase following a late Marcos Rojo winner against Nigeria.

But this is also the phase where you start afresh and go all the way to the title if you win four matches. This might be the start of an experienced Argentina team putting behind all the on and off-field disappointments to fulfil Messi's and Argentina's dream of lifting the biggest prize in football.

For France the job is even harder for a young yet talented group -- 10 of them made their Word Cup debuts this time. Although Lloris said that Mbappe, who is only 19, can not be bracketed in the same league as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, he did not rule out the possibility of the Paris Saint-Germain forward to come out the winner tomorrow. And they do have a seasoned marksman in Antoine Griezmann.

“I think Messi is unique. You can't compare anyone to Messi. Kylian has qualities, huge potential. He is fast, explosive -- he needs space and I think tomorrow if we have more space Mbappe has the ability to make the difference,” said the French goalkeeper.

Interestingly, both Messi and Mbappe will look for space for creativity but the coaches of both teams will make every effort to keep them away from the ball. This will be truer for Messi, who dictated the majority of the press briefing that Lloris and French coach Didier Deschamps attended. Lloris got at least five questions about the challenge Messi will pose, while Deschamps got four, ranging from how big a threat the little magician may pose to how he could be stopped.

“Messi is Messi -- with him on the pitch there are several solutions for Argentina and our effort will be to at least limit his impact. He has the ability produce a spark that can change the game at any moment. He is unpredictable,” Deschamps rounded off.

But apart from the Messi factor it will be a game between experience and youth.