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France sealed a semi-final spot in the FIFA World Cup for a sixth time in their rich footballing history, courtesy of a compelling 2-0 victory over Uruguay at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. A pin-point header from Raphael Varane combined with a howler from Fernando Muslera sent them through to the next round.
Uruguay were on the back foot even before their much-awaited quarterfinal commenced, as they were without their talisman in Edinson Cavani due to fitness issues.
The plans were charted out to the entire world from the first minute. They were in for a solid defensive display, where they would pin their faith on counter-attacks, crosses and set-pieces to boost their goal-scoring chances. Oscar Tabarez's side managed to stick to a solid shape throughout the game, but fell just short due to a lapse in concentration and an error from their number one.
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The Frenchmen bossed possession but never really managed to settle in or gain a foothold. Uruguay threatened to break but lack of creativity proved to be their undoing.
Despite completing take-ons and lung-busting runs, Kylian Mbappe missed the game's first chance. Olivier Giroud cushioned a header towards him, but the 19-year-old spurned the chance by looping it over the post. On the back of smart movement in the box, Varane's excellent 40th-minute header granted France a much-needed lead.
Before the cusp of the half-time break, Hugo Lloris' full-stretch stop, which will go down as one of the best in this World Cup, denied Martin Caceres. The ball which fell kindly to Godin was then skied by the center-half, whose defensive instincts kicked in at the wrong end of the pitch.
Just when Uruguay were trying to engineer an opening, Muslera couldn't hold on or punch a curling Antoine Griezmann effort. Having doubled the lead against a side like Uruguay, France knew they are just 180 minutes away from lifting their second World Cup trophy.
Diego Godin and co. showcased their sturdiness and solidity in their World Cup campaign, but couldn't progress due to the lack of a killer's instinct at times.
Here are three reasons why they lost to Les Blues:
#1 Lack of service to the middle
First and foremost, the absence of Edinson Cavani turned out to be a body blow for La Celeste. His absence meant that Suarez would have a tougher job on his hands. The smart interchanges of play, clever little through balls, crosses and one-twos were sucked out of Uruguay's attack due to Cavani's unavailability.
They struggled to break through a resolute French back line through the middle, as it was screened by none other than N'Golo Kante, who, as many say, has batteries and not legs.
Poor service and inaccurate crosses implied that Suarez didn't have a sniff of the ball in the box. The Barcelona forward didn't quite showcase his exquisite movement either. As France did all the talking, his side were forced to drop deeper and deeper, which resulted in his isolation.
Stuani, who came into the side as a replacement for Cavani, failed to find a return pass to Suarez, link up play with him, or keep hold of the ball. Often, Suarez came off his lines to collect the ball and initiate an attack, which only added to his frustration.
#2 Beaten in the wings
Uruguay failed to soak in the pressure for all 90 minutes, which was clearly seen when the goals were scored.
They let France dominate and paid too much respect to Didier Deschamps' side early on, one could argue. Kylian Mbappe's darting runs drew Diego Laxalt infield, thereby allowing acres of space for the in-form Benjamin Pavard. And when the teenage sensation decided to exploit the wider spaces, he proved to be too fast for any of the Uruguayan defenders.
The same happened down the left flank, where Corentin Tolisso and Hernandez took Martin Caceres to the cleaners. Together, their cutting edge along with a fantastic delivery infused a sense of confusion into the opposition back line.
However, they were mainly outfoxed by the genius of Antoine Griezmann. He played a free role in the final third, occupying all central, right and left parts of the field. Cleverly, he added his creativity down the flanks, played one-twos with Giroud and Mbappe at the middle and provided the crosses whenever required.
To cap it off, he struck a sweetly-timed shot from distance and assisted Varane with a teasing ball into the box. He orchestrated a destructive French attack.
Lastly, Griezmann and Tolisso ran the extra yard whenever required. Their liveliness in the wider areas combined with fruitful defensive contributions meant that the duo always had an upper edge over an unimaginative Uruguayan attack.
#1 Defensive lapses
France registered just two shots on target out of the 11 they launched on goal. This clearly shows that the Uruguayans were as solid as they've been throughout the tournament.
Oscar Tabarez deployed over six people in the box all the time, trying to forestall any threat from inside the box. They labored 18 tackles, 13 interceptions and 15 clearances. But, the smallest of oversights can cause severe damage in football, especially when one is up against champions-elect France in a quarterfinal.
They were instructed to install a sense of robustness and alertness for the whole of 90 minutes.
But, who was marking Varane when he ran across three light blue shirts to bury the header into the back of the net? For a side as well-drilled as Uruguay, it was a shame. Take nothing away from the Real Madrid defender, who scored an absolute beauty. But, these free-kicks are practised over and over again and dealt with in training - one simply cannot afford to switch off.
Next, there's not much to exclaim, as far as the second goal is concerned. La Celeste had two chances through which they could have kept themselves alive in the game. The first chance was before half-time when Diego Godin failed to mop up a sitter from close range after Caceres was kept out by Lloris.
If he had converted, they would have gone into the second-half with an even scoreline of 1-1. Most importantly, the momentum would have definitely been in their favour.
The next one was Muslera's mistake. Should he have saved the long-range effort, his side would have been in the game. Unfortunately for the shot-stopper, the game was put to bed by Griezmann due to his mistake.
Much to their despair, would have's, should have's and could have's don't really count.
Why do you think Uruguay lost? Tell us in the comments below!
