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France became the first team to book their place in the semi-final of the World Cup 2018 as they cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win over dark horses Uruguay.
A lot was expected of the South Americans, but it was mostly a stroll in the park for the French, and at no point in the contest did Uruguay look like they wanted to win.
Rafael Varane's header off a set-piece in the first half set up the win, and then a costly error from a Griezmann shot that curled slightly at the last minute put an end to Uruguay's progress in the tournament.
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Any signs of a comeback were thwarted by a nervy Uruguay side, and things ended as dully as they began for them.
France will now take on the winner of the Belgium-Brazil match, and much confident of their chances of making history. Here's a look at three key takeaways from the game:
#1 The importance of Cavani
To say Uruguay were poor tonight would be a massive understatement. Without a tall target man upfront, they failed to have a semblance of a chance of scoring and were dreadful for almost the entire game.
It was the Cavani-Suarez partnership that had sustained Uruguay so far in the WC, and without Cavani, Suarez cut a lone man in the opposition box.
Stuani did not have the same chemistry with the Barcelona striker, and Caceres' crosses into the box did not find Suarez as good as they should have.
Uruguay also did not change their tactics to match with Cavani's absence, and their long balls from the back simply soared past the French defenders and/or into Lloris' waiting hand.
It was expected that Cavani's absence would make a difference, but whether anyone expected this big of a difference is unlikely.
It was painful seeing Cavani watch from the bench - knowing that he has to do something, but utterly incapable of doing anything. Football, bloody hell, eh?
#2 The need for a proper playmaker
If Cavani's absence at the top made the Uruguayan attack toothless, the lack of a playmaker in the midfield reduced them to looking like Sunday league players who hoofed the ball up-field every time it came to their feet.
On the other hand, Pogba was a beast in the French midfield, continuing his exploits against Argentina. With the defensive work being shared around him, Pogba had the time and the freedom and focus on what needed to be done.
It was not just Pogba. Kante, Tolisso, Griezmann - all of them dropped into the midfield to help out in attack and sharing the burden, while Uruguay had nobody to turn to.
Their balls only rarely went past the France defenders, and when they did their effectiveness in the final third was questionable.
The situation got so bad for Uruguay that Suarez had to drop into the midfield at the dying moments to salvage the game, but by then it was too little too late.
With Bentancur neutralised by Kante, only Lucas Torreira had a remotely good game in the Uruguay midfield.
#3 A rise in simulation
France might have won, but it was disgusting to watch Mbappe flop around the ground as if he had been taken out by a sniper with a BB gun when all he got was a graze from the end of Rodriguez's arm.
This match saw a lot of such simulations - on both ends, as players took to the ground from the slightest of touches.
It hampered the momentum of the game at times, and why players do this when there are a million cameras pointed at them and VAR now being capable of checking through the scenes remains a mystery.
What is even more frustrating is that even the exceptional players are not avoiding simulation right now. After two great goals against Mbappe, there is no need for him to resort to such types of cheap tactics - and certainly not when his team is leading 2-0.
He did get his karma back in the form of a yellow card, and he succeeded in riling up an otherwise composed Godin - but why?
It is the quarterfinals of the World Cup, and acting like a child on such a big stage will not go down kindly with the neutral fans. It might sound snobby, but it really detracts from what the game is all about.
What did you think about France's performance against Uruguay? Sound off your opinions in the comments section below!
