We begin with the knockout phase at the World Cup, which kicks off later today when Argentina meet France in Kazan. While the European side won Group C, the South Americans struggled to finish second in Group D, but are now determined to dump this tournament's first two weeks into the bin. Damion Jones has the details.  

Argentina seemed to be in real danger of making an early exit from the 2018 FIFA World Cup, until a dramatic 2-1 victory over Nigeria sent the Albiceleste into the Round of 16, as Group D runners-up behind Croatia. Coach Jorge Sampaoli found himself under the microscope, after the South Americans opened with a 1-1 draw against Iceland, and a 3-0 curb stomping by the team from the Balkans. But the man who roams the touchline says his squad is united, and have full faith in their ability to advance, as they face France.

JORGE SAMPAOLI ARGENTINA COACH "What I see in Lionel Messi, and in this group of players, is that the love and feeling for the Argentina jersey is so strong -- that pressure and stress are factors which make that feeling bigger. A cry, or a smile, externalizes many feelings which makes this national team so dangerous for anybody to face."

The French side got off to a solid but underwhelming start by beating Australia 2-1, and dispatching Peru 1-0. But Les Bleus did not make many new fans while playing out a scoreless draw versus Denmark, to wrap up their place at the top of Group C. And of course none of those units have an attacking threat anywhere near the level of Lionel Messi, whose presence makes it tough to ever count out the Argentines. Coach Didier Deschamps knows very well what his men are up against, and won't focus exclusively on stopping the Little Magician.

DIDIER DESCHAMPS FRANCE COACH "Messi is Messi. You only have to look at his statistics -- he has 65 goals in 127 games -- that tells you everything. Obviously, what would be ideal is to neutralize him, but we also know that he can make a big difference by doing lots of little things, so we need to take that into account as well."

France claimed their only World Cup title in 1998, while Argentina grabbed top honors in 1978 and 1986. Damion Jones, CGTN.