Deschamps reveals how he stopped Messi after through to the World Cup quarter-finals

France are through to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, much to the relief of coach Didier Deschamps, who tactically masterminded a way to keep Lionel Messi quiet for Argentina.

The Barcelona man provided two assists but it was not enough as France ran out 4-3 winners, thanks to Kylian Mbappe's magnificent display.

"I think my Argentinian counterpart wanted to give him more freedom to come behind our central midfielders, but we adapted to neutralise him," he said. "[N'Golo] Kante was always marking him.

"We had two chances; stopping him getting on the ball, which we did a lot, and when he had it we had to have one on him and one just off him.

"He was subject to a unique vigilance. We knew the connection between [Javier] Mascherano, [Ever] Banega and Messi, if you want Messi to have less influence you have to block the other two."

The coach was also keen to praise his own team, who showed that, despite their lack of experience, they can compete at the very highest level.

"It's a team with little experience, but I know that they can go far," he insisted. "My job is to make sure they're all at the best level."

His skills were particularly put to the test when Argentina took the lead in the second half after Gabriel Mercado deflected Lionel Messi's shot into the net.

"We didn't let our heads drop, we looked for the comeback and if we had to look for it again then I'm sure we would have done it," the coach said.

A key factor in the win was Kylian Mbappe, who scored a brace and won a penalty to open the scoring.

"He loves football, he knows it all, I'm happy he's French," joked Deschamps.

"He has huge potential, but in a game as important as this he has shown his talent, although he had to defend it didn't stop him attacking and he did it well.

"He's not the same kind of player [as Ronaldo], Ronaldo played more centrally was capable of incredible acceleration with the ball at his feet.

"Kylian runs slower, he needs more space. Although he can play as a No. 9, he usually goes wider.

"We're comparing a world champion with a quality player but he's only 19-years-old, he'll progress a lot."

France will now progress to the quarter-final and are just three games away from ensuring that Mbappe can become a world champion too.