France are through to the semifinals after their 2-0 victory against Uruguay. The absence of Cavani along with a very focused “Les Bleus” performance paved the way for Uruguay’s elimination.
On a tightly contested affair it was “Celeste” that had the first real opportunity of the game, with Vecino’s shot from the edge of the area smothered easily by Hugo Lloris.
France managed to break the deadlock on the 41′ minute after a delicious free-kick delivery from Griezmann and an exquisite head finish by Raphael Varane.
Three minutes later Caceres tried to replied back with an excellent header, but Hugo Lloris showed why he is considered among the top goalkeepers denying him the goal with an exceptional save.
Fernando Muslera’s poor reaction at the 61′ against Griezmann’s shot sealed it for the French who will be facing Belgium in the World Cup 2018 semifinals.
“Today we played against opponents who were better and stronger than us. We have to admit it and congratulate them. We couldn’t control their strengths. I told all my players after the match that they can be very proud, they can keep their heads high. I think the world has seen what we achieved, what we want to do, and what sort of country we are. We are a small country you know. It is harder for us than for France or Germany or England.
The first goal was the first time in a very long time that a team has been able to score like that against us. Of course when you lose you feel it, for a country like Uruguay, with our history. Of course it’s painful, but let’s not be too dramatic. We dream on. Things never end. A World Cup is played every four years. There are many countries that belong to the football elite that left this tournament before we did, Germany left during the group phase, Argentina left earlier too”, Uruguay manager Oscar Tabarez said after the match.
When asked about Muslera’s error he defended his goalkeeper “I’m not going to tell you what I said with my goalkeeper. He has been a very important pillar for us. I am not going to wash my hands putting any responsibility on the players.”
“We had done something big against Argentina and today we have again raised our level”, Deschamps told BeIN Sports.
“I have a good team that still has plenty of room for improvement. You can see our lack of experience sometimes, but we have so many qualities too. In any case, it definitely won’t be a failed World Cup now, and we’ll wait to find out our opponents and see what happens.”
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