19 year-old Kylian Mbappe is one of the unquestionable faves and a central hero of Twitter users’ admiring posts; his impeccable running efforts couldn’t have gone unnoticed either:
Vous avez pas l’impression que les jambes de Mbappé commencent au niveau de ses aisselles? #FRAARG pic.twitter.com/K2wEUl5Vk0
— Wanzo® 🇸🇳🇧🇷 (@walidyactine) 30 июня 2018 г.
Mbappe pic.twitter.com/TO52n3jfuF…#WorldCup #FRAARG
— ♏ŕ €πdowed™ (@endowcco) 30 июня 2018 г.
Brazilian Ronaldo's reincarnation is already in this era man #Mbappe #FRAARG
— Iki (@MRAIki) 30 июня 2018 г.
Lionel Messi’s fans, meanwhile, appear to resemble those, who take his personality and performance with a pinch of salt:
Welcome, Monsieur Messi. Your #WorldCup quarter finals invitation, please.
— Subtitled in Sarcasm (@The_Zugzwang) 30 июня 2018 г.
Messi:#FRAARG pic.twitter.com/IHdRfndaKb
The GOAT is leaving Russia ASUN as possible #FRAARG #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/8ujsFcPtsP
— Abigail (@R_heyyy) 30 июня 2018 г.
Feeling sad for @TeamMessi but he is a real star.@WeAreMessi @Lionel_Messi@fundacionmessi @imessi@leomessiapp @LMessifanclub@MessiFansBrasil#Fra #WorldCup #FRAARG pic.twitter.com/LjL4YVWdLo
— Engr. Farrukh (@farrukhzx) 30 июня 2018 г.
Si l'équipe de France était un rogue miracle @KMbappe serait commissaire priseur#FRAARG pic.twitter.com/4dOTtEfwcc
— pagnard fabien (@cafeine_fp) 30 июня 2018 г.
… and most surely, the question of whether this has indeed been Messi’s last World Cup has struck a nerve:
#FRAARG Waiting for Messi to announce retirement.. Chin up Legend… pic.twitter.com/09EnS3yeNY
— Tuhin dixit (@imtuhindixit) 30 июня 2018 г.
"Did you know Messi also stars in the famous TV show Narcos?" one user asked, accompanying his rhetorical question with a funny gif:
Did you know Messi also stars in the famous TV show Narcos? 😂😂😂 #FRAARG pic.twitter.com/YRZxZpWqVp
— The Real Kakistocrat (@RealAfroTrump) 30 июня 2018 г.
Meanwhile, one user even suggested that Messi might have preferred to escape post-match publicity:
***BREAKING NEWS*** Lionel Messi has gone missing in Russia!!!! #FRAARG pic.twitter.com/1tNsIUttVB
— Ashley 📈🔥 (@Eavesy91) 30 июня 2018 г.
Some tended to mourn, although tongue-in-cheek, Argentina quitting the quest for a World Cup title:
I shouldn't have watched the whole thing #FRAARG pic.twitter.com/Rxneh3O4He
— 🖤Mio💜 (@infires_man98) 30 июня 2018 г.
#ARG OUT!!!
— mariam saleema (@28saleema) 30 июня 2018 г.
Move on @28saleema 😂#FRAARG pic.twitter.com/oiVVzSmKSZ
Argentina who was cheering was defeated.. The walls of France were expensive. #FRAARG pic.twitter.com/DrcIlSsq5V
— Sound_Cast＠follow back (@cast_sound) 30 июня 2018 г.
References to Diego Maradona’s vivid mannerisms are naturally in abundance:
Retweeted Alex (@Robbvolt):
— Carlos Jeraldo Dìaz (@CarlosJeraldoD) 30 июня 2018 г.
No me quiero ir, señor FIFA. #ARGENTINA #Rusia2018 #ARG #FRA #FRAARG #ArgentinaVsFrancia #Mundialxel13 pic.twitter.com/h4408HdlE1 https://t.co/R8jdk0fC8p
Maradona actuellement #FRAARG pic.twitter.com/q5zDOwht5B
— LOULS (@louis_bnh) 30 июня 2018 г.
#FRAARG
— Hassan Ahmed (@5664hassan) 30 июня 2018 г.
The way Argentina is going. I can see diago maradona going in hospital. pic.twitter.com/UUtfwaVsmk
One user suggested mid-way through the match that Maradona had presumably opted for some doping, thereby playing upon the recent jokes over Maradona’s dubious "white powder" bags.
Maradonna has gone for a livener at half time #FRAARG #Worldcup pic.twitter.com/5Cj506i61J
— Craig🏴 (@TheBeezKneez89) 30 июня 2018 г.
The match’s s top players and the stands even featured in a number of photoshopped collages, whereas some stuck to their own emotions as they were watching the bout:
Moi depuis la 1ère jusqu'a la 90ème minute de ce match #FRAARG pic.twitter.com/pMwKAafduh
— Ok (@NASAINSPACE) 30 июня 2018 г.
#FRAARG
— Νικη (@fck_u_all__) 30 июня 2018 г.
Di Maria arriving late at #WorldCup!
Finally pic.twitter.com/xet2M8METL
Full paisawasool match, the Boyz played well!!! #FRAARG Good luck #FRA for next round. Hard luck #arg #FRAARG pic.twitter.com/I4TNr9vnMQ
— Abhay Anand (@ABHAY_1987) 30 июня 2018 г.
@Guillaumenassif @J_Nsf bon baisers de Russie #FRAARG un abrazo de Didier? pic.twitter.com/jAqrQg7l9w
— G_figeac (@GFigeac) 30 июня 2018 г.
‘When you say aloud "Go, another goal", that you forget to specify "for France" and that Di Maria scores a goal’
Quand tu dis à haute voix "Allez, un autre but", que tu oublies de préciser "pour la France" et que Di Maria marque un but…#FRAARG #CDM2018 pic.twitter.com/ujQuDn5esO
— Mandine ⬆ (@BlackNet54_) 30 июня 2018 г.
One user recalled Gollum from J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium in connection with Di Maria’s goal:
#FRAARG #DIMARIA Gol 🙃🙃 pic.twitter.com/Py2Mse4TO6
— Adriana Pando (@adrianaarlet) 30 июня 2018 г.
Some users naturally indulged in speculations over the use of the VAR automated referee system in this match, concluding that it is biased in favor of Europeans:
#FRA Has such a strong support from the referees in this #WorldCup.
— Hѕη Ƙнη (@A_NervousSystem) 30 июня 2018 г.
VAR seems to be an invention only for European teams. South Americans play against 12men in every game.#FRAARG
In the upcoming quater-finals, France will play the winner of today's match between Uruguay and Portugal.
