Goals from Raphael Varane and Antoine Griezmann earned France a 2-0 win over Uruguay in their World Cup quarter-final tie at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on Friday afternoon.
Varane got on the end of a well-delivered free kick to open the scoring 40 minutes in, before Griezmann's long-range shot somehow found a way past Fernando Muslera.
La Celeste offered little in response in the remaining half an hour, meaning that Les Blues will contest in the semis for the first time since finishing as runners-up in 2006.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the World Cup quarter-final between Uruguay and France at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. This is the first of the last-eight ties over the next 29 hours or so and is arguably the most mouthwatering of the lot, throwing together two sides who have serious aspirations of going all the way.
Les Blues were able to flex their muscles in the last round in knocking four past Argentina, but today's opponents are far more defensively stable - just one goal conceded in their four outings so far - and this is expected to be very tight. It has the potential to go all the way, with a number of intriguing individual battles right across the field, including Antoine Griezmann against Diego Godin - the godfather of his child.
URUGUAY TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Muslera; Gimenez, Godin, Caceres, Laxalt; Nandez, Torreira, Bentancur, Vecino; Suarez, Stuani
SUBS: Varela, Sanchez, Rodriguez, de Arrascaeta, Campana, G.Silva, Pereira, Gomez, Coates, Urretaviscaya, Cavani, M.Silva
It makes sense to start with a look at the Uruguay XI, as the big talking point in the build-up to the match centred on the fitness of Edinson Cavani. The Paris Saint-Germain striker was the hero in last week's 2-1 win against Portugal in the last 16, but he limped off towards the end of the game and has failed to fully recover from that calf injury. Luis Suarez is therefore joined by Girona's Cristian Stuani up top.
That really is a massive blow for Uruguay, who boast the tournament's finest strike pairing in Suarez and Cavani. The latter has netted 45 goals in 105 outings following his brace against Portugal, whereas the man who replaces him today, former Middlesbrough forward Stuani, has just five in 42 outings. The other alternative was to bring an extra midfielder into the fold, but Oscar Tabarez clearly did not fancy changing the structure of his side.
La Celeste's forward duo may have been broken up for today's match, but Diego Godin - who has played in every minute so far this World Cup - and Jose Gimenez once again link up in the heart of defence. Not content with being part of arguably the best central-defensive duo anywhere in the world, Gimenez has also chipped in with two goals in his last four matches, including a late header to get the ball rolling against Egypt.
FRANCE TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Lloris; Hernandez, Umtiti, Varane, Pavard; Kante, Pogba; Tolisso, Griezmann, Mbappe; Giroud
SUBS: Kimpembe, Lemar, Dembele, N'Zonzi, Mandanda, Rami, Fekir, Sidibe, Thauvin, Mendy, Areola
Like Tabarez with Cavani, France boss Didier Deschamps has also been forced into a change in personnel as Blaise Matuidi misses out through suspension. Matuidi was fielded on the left side of attack in the 4-3 win against Argentina and really helped with the balance of the side, meaning that Deschamps had a huge call to make today with regards to who he would bring in. Bayern Munich's Corentin Tolisso is the player who has been given the nod.
Tolisso, preferred to Nabil Fekir and Thomas Lemar, will presumably be a like-for-like swap out on the left side of a three-man attacking midfield. That leaves Kylian Mbappe on the right, Antoine Griezmann through the middle and Olivier Giroud as the lone striker. This is a formation that also appears to be getting the best out of Paul Pogba, who is given license to get forward thanks to the protection offered by N'Golo Kante.
Griezmann has scored six goals in his last five knockout matches with France, helping him to be crowned the best player at Euro 2016, but he has just two goals from 12 shots at this year's World Cup - both of those coming via the penalty spot. Mbappe is the player on the lips of every neutral right now, though, following his scintillating display against Argentina last week - enough to make him the bookies' favourite for the Golden Ball award.
Both managers are forced into making a change today, with Edinson Cavani missing out through injury for Uruguay and Blaise Matuidi dropping out of France's starting lineup because of suspension. Cristian Stuani and Corentin Tolisso slot into the respective lineups in like-for-like changes, for what should be a blockbuster opening quarter-final in Nizhny Novgorod.
Uruguay head int this match sitting seven places below their opponents in the latest FIFA rankings, which is admittedly only a rough barometer of any teams' quality. The South American side - a nation of less than 3.5m people, remember - have twice lifted the World Cup, but they have only reached the quarter-finals or better on one other occasion since 1966. That was in 2010 when finishing fourth behind Germany, Netherlands and Spain.
Tabarez's men started slowly this time around, failing to really live up to their tags as many neutrals' dark horses. An 89th-minute goal was required from Gimenez to earn all three points in their opening Group A fixture against a Mohamed Salah-less Egypt, before then scraping their way past Saudi Arabia through a Luis Suarez goal in the first half. It was far from impressive, yet after two rounds of matches it was a case of job done.
The pressure was therefore off against Russia in the concluding round of Group A fixtures, yet Tabarez went with a settled lineup that included Suarez and Cavani up top. His reward was a convincing 3-0 win over the tournament hosts to claim top spot, yet ironically their route to the final could not have been any tougher - Portugal, France and then one of Belgium or Brazil in the semi-finals.
That win over Portugal was an upset in the eyes of many, mainly because Portugal are the reigning champions of Europe and have a serious knack of getting the job done even when not at their best. Cavani scored a goal either side of Pepe's header - the only goal that Uruguay have shipped in Russia - to leave La Celeste's band of supporters partying late into the Sochi night.
Having conceded their first goal of the tournament in sloppy circumstances - nobody picked up Pepe and the veteran defender had a simple task of converting past Fernando Muslera - Uruguay showed great character to respond almost instantly. It is the second time in their World Cup history that they have won four games in a row from the start of the competition; the other occasion being the 1930 edition when beating Argentina 4-2 in the final to lift the trophy.
That is worth remember in all this - Uruguay have won the World Cup on two previous occasions, compared to just the once for opponents France. It goes without saying that events from nearly a century ago will have little baring on events in Nizhny Novgorod, of course, but La Celeste cannot be cast as minnows - even if they are one of the smallest competing nations in Russia.
Skipping forward to the present day, Uruguay had just 30% possession in the second half of that meeting with Portugal, and their winner came from their only shot of any sort after the restart. Tabarez's men have now won seven matches in a row this calendar year and have conceded just one goal in that run. Up the other end 13 goals have been scored, which is less impressive on the face of it, but the Uruguayans are effective to say the least.
Nine clean sheets have also been kept in their last 13 outings, so while Cavani is absent today, Uruguay still have the rest of their key defensive and midfield men. In fact, it could be argued that La Celeste have the most complete team in the tournament when factoring in the likes of unheralded gems Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Torreira and Matias Vecino, who each have important roles to play this afternoon.
DID YOU KNOW? Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez have scored a combined 61 goals in 57 starts for Uruguay, while also setting up 26 goals between them. Since the 1966 World Cup, only Gregorz Lato and Andrej Szarmach of Poland, and Germany's Michael Ballack and Miroslav Klose (five apiece), have combined for more goals in the showpiece competition. A shame, then, that we will not see that partnership up close again today!
If Uruguay have been considered dark horses to go all the win and lift the famous cup for a third time, then France have simply been considered outright favourites with many. Like their opponents, though, they also started slowly in Russia, requiring a VAR-assisted late victory over Australia in their opener before edging out Peru 1-0 in their next match. Then came the forgetful stalemate with Denmark to conclude their group campaign - still the only goalless draw in the 2018 tournament.
Despite finishing top of their group, numerous questions were asked of manager Didier Deschamps and his inability to find a formation that worked. Like successful teams so often do, though, Les Blues clicked into gear when the real business got going as they netted four times in a 4-3 win over Argentina in that first knockout game. Mbappe well and truly run the show for France, while the likes of Griezmann and Pogba also played a big part.
It was not exactly a one-sided match, but the 4-3 scoreline did flatter Argentina slightly as France well and truly stepped things up in the second half. Mbappe overshadowed opponent Lionel Messi by becoming the first teenager since Pele in 1958 to score two goals in a World Cup match. Les Blues scored from all four of their shots on target in that match, having netted just three from 12 in the group stage.
France do of course have two of the world's four most expensive players in their attacking ranks, although Ousmane Dembele is only among the subs today, which has been the case in three of his side's five outings. Paul Pogba cost £89m a couple of years back, too, and looks at home sitting alongside Kante. Further forward, Griezmann continued his incredible record -spanning 19 matches - last time out of being on the winning side every team that he has scored for his national side
Nine members of this France squad were part of the beaten finalists from Euro 2016, but it remains to be seen what would be a successful campaign for them in Russia. Exiting at the quarter-finals would be disappointing, though Brazil are likely to await in the semis and that will be an even tougher test if they get there. The worry for Les Blues, if you can call it that, is they have still yet to win a match by more than one goal in Russia.
France lost their most recent quarter-final tie to Germany in 2014, coming after a run of four successive victories at this stage. They remain unbeaten in their last nine World Cup matches against South American opposition, meanwhile, winning five of those and keeping a clean sheet in seven overall. They may have triumphed just once on the world stage, which really is surprising when looking back at their past squads, yet they have to be considered serious heavyweights.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! These two sides are facing each other at the World Cup for a fourth time, but this is their first ever coming together in the knockout stages. The last two meetings in this showpiece competition ended in goalless draws in 2002 and 2010, while Uruguay won 2-1 way back in 1966. La Celeste also won the most recent encounter 1-0 in a June 2013 friendly, with Luis Suarez netting the winner on that occasion.
In fact, France's only win in the past eight encounters was a 2-0 friendly triumph in 1985 on home soil. It must be said that this is not a fixture that has been blessed with goals down the years, but let us forget about that for a moment! There are superstars on display wherever you look, although some of them are at risk of missing the semi-finals should they pick up a caution today. In full, they are: Rodrigo Bentancur, Olivier Giroud, Corentin Tolisso, Paul Pogba and Benjamin Pavard.
With kickoff in Nizhny Novgorod now less than five minutes away, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.
Oscar Tabarez: "France's strongest points are the attackers, [Antoine] Griezmann and [Kylian] Mbappe. If you let France have space it will be very difficult. It will be very difficult for us. But we will try our best and look to impose our way of playing on them, using our strengths. We're here to play all seven matches, right up until the final, and we will see what happens."
Didier Deschamps: "I am preparing my team for Cavani playing but, whether he plays or not, I will only know an hour and a half before the game. [Oscar] Tabarez has other options, and I have also prepared my team with different options in mind. If he is not there it is not going to change Uruguay's profile. They have so many assets, so many qualities. They defend as a unit, they play together and they love to do that."
Oscar Tabarez acknowledges that Uruguay cannot afford to give their opponents any sort of space in the final third, with this the toughest test Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez have faced in Russia so far. France boss Didier Deschamps, meanwhile, has been given a huge boost as La Celeste striker Edinson Cavani is not included in the matchday squad today because of a niggling injury.
KICKOFF! The first of the 2018 World Cup quarter-finals are up and running at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. The stakes could not be any higher, with two-time world champions Uruguay and 1998 winners France locking horns in an intriguing tie.
A worrying moment for Olivier Giroud, who is down on the ground and in some pain with less than three minutes played. Jose Gimenez appeared to catch the striker on the back of his heel, but Giroud does seem as though he will be able to run it off.
Hearts in mouths for France supporters as their side get in a real mess at the back. The ball came into the box and Varane was unable to deal with it but, in the absence of Cavani this afternoon, there was nobody there to convert the loose ball.
SHOT! Uruguay have settled by far the quicker of the two sides in Nizhny. Cristian Stuani peels off his man but in the end it was difficult to work out whether he was shooting or crossing, sending the ball across Hugo Lloris's goal.
Plenty of nearly moments already in this tie. The ball very nearly dropped into the feet of Giroud, but it was cleared away by a player in sky blue. Hernandez's cross from the right then got further than it should of before being dealt with.
A very high intensity start to this opening quarter-final. After that challenge on Giroud early on, Lucas Hernandez has just been wiped out - winning a free kick in the process - before Nandez landed on top of him. Should have been a caution for the Uruguayan.
France are starting to find their rhythm now following a bright start for Uruguay. Naughty tactics from the South Americans, as we expected, as Kylian Mbappe is the latest to be kicked close to the touchline - worryingly, he is grimacing.
Already 15 minutes played in Nizhny Novgorod! Uruguay have just won the first corner of the game, taken by Lucas Torreira towards Diego Godin. Cristian Stuani wanted to lift the ball over Hugo Lloris, but the French keeper got to it first.
CHANCE! Benjamin Pavard loops a cross into the box from the right. Olivier Giroud heads it into the path of Kylian Mbappe, who had acres of space in front of the Uruguay goal but could not find the target from his header.
That Mbappe header was the first real chance of the match so far, and one that the teenage forward should have been doing better with. Not sure Mbappe knew just how much time and space he had; surely he would not have attempted a looping header if he did.
Paul Pogba, who impressed in the win over Argentina, thumps a shocker of an attempt high into the stands from range. France have been frustrated in the opening quarter of the match, with Oscar Tabarez likely to be the happier of the two managers.
The past few minutes have been all about France and their intricate passing on the edge of the opposition box. Plenty of gaps opening up in the final third, with Pogba and Griezmann heavily involved, but no end product at the moment.
Uruguay with 39% of the ball so far, which is actually a fair bit more than they had in the second half against Portugal. Suarez goes in incredibly late on Benjamin Pavard, leaving the French full-back in some pain on the floor.
Incredible to think just how few yellow cards Uruguay have had this tournament. They are the experts at producing a string of niggling fouls, doing enough to bruise their opponents but always managing to get away with any bookings.
Another cross from the right, this time from a deeper position, is just out of Olivier Giroud's reach. Half an hour played in Nizhny Novgorod and we have had just the one real chance so far, which fell the way of Kylian Mbappe.
Plenty of jeers from the stands as France continue to boss the ball. Yet another cross causes panic in the Uruguay box, which evades Mbappe and Giroud in a central position. The South Americans living dangerously, ceding all this possession.
YELLOW CARD! Uruguay's gameplan, even if it is risky, is working with more than a third of the match played. The first caution of the match is shown to Lucas Hernandez for pulling back on Nahitan Nandez, who was breaking down the right.
SAVE! Uruguay have been the side on top over the past couple of minutes and we have just had our first notable shot on target. Luis Suarez gets away from his man down the right and picks out Matias Vecino, whose attempt from inside the box was hit too close to Hugo Lloris.
A chance for La Celeste to counter, only for Stuani - in for the injured Cavani today - to overhit a pretty simple pass into the path of Suarez. Uruguay have seen far less of the ball but have looked just as threatening when transitioning into attack mode.
YELLOW CARD! Rodrigo Bentancur with a nasty challenge on Corentin Tolisso, which does not go unpunished. A yellow card is shown to the Uruguay midfielder, ruling him out of the semi-finals should his side make it.
GOAL! URUGUAY 0-1 FRANCE (RAPHAEL VARANE)
France take the lead in Nizhny Novgorod through their first attempt on target of the afternoon. It is a superb header from centre-back Raphael Varane, getting the slightest of touches to Antoine Griezmann's free kick and finding the far corner.
SAVE! Uruguay have had more joy in terms of on-target attempts, with this their third of the contest. Nahitan Nandez has a go from range, but once again it was all very simple for Hugo Lloris who did not have to break his stride.
SAVE! The two or three saves he has made so far have been straightforward, but this was extraordinary from Hugo Lloris. Martin Caceres got a clean head to the free kick, only for Lloris to dive at full stretch to his right and somehow keep the ball out. Diego Godin thumped the rebound high over the bar from a couple of yards.
HALF TIME: URUGUAY 0-1 FRANCE
France take a one-goal lead into the interval thanks to a deft header from Raphael Varane. The match took some time to get going, but get going it did as Uruguay so nearly responded late on in the first half - Hugo Lloris producing a fine save to keep out Martin Caceres's header.
The absence of Edinson Cavani was always going to be a big blow for Uruguay, but Cristhian Stuani was keen to make an impression and fired wide early on from the first shot of the contest. France were being allowed to dominate possession as the first half wore on, playing some nice intricate football on the edge of the box without finding a way through.
Crosses from the right were proving to be their best route through, in fact, and from one such delivery Olivier Giroud nodded the ball perfectly into the path of Kylian Mbappe. Fresh on the back of his breakthrough showing on the world stage against Argentina last week, the teenage forward looped his header over the bar, despite finding himself in plenty of space.
Uruguay were the side racking up the shots on target, though, with Matias Vecino the latest to test Hugo Lloris, yet it was Les Blues who would snatch the opening goal. A stuttered run-up from Antoine Griezmann from a deep free kick left the Uruguayan defence disorganised, and Raphael Varane got enough on the ball from his header to find the far corner.
After becoming just the second side in seven matches to break down the Uruguay wall, France so nearly undone their hard work before the interval as Martin Caceres got away from his man, forcing an extraordinary save out of Lloris, before Diego Godin smashed the rebound over the crossbar from a couple of yards out. Still plenty to play for in the second half, with the teams due back out in a couple of minutes.
URUGUAY SUBS: Varela, Sanchez, Rodriguez, de Arrascaeta, Campana, G.Silva, Pereira, Gomez, Coates, Urretaviscaya, Cavani, M.Silva
FRANCE SUBS: Kimpembe, Lemar, Dembele, N'Zonzi, Mandanda, Rami, Fekir, Sidibe, Thauvin, Mendy, Areola
RESTART! We are back under way at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. Antoine Griezmann wasted the chance to play through Kylian Mbappe right from the off in an early warning for Uruguay, whose gameplan so nearly worked in the opening 45.
Almost an absolute howler from Muslera, who was closed down by Griezmann and put under pressure. Muslera attempted to drag he ball back but Griezmann got a touch, only for the ball to fly out of play rather than towards the back of the net.
Uruguay cannot sit back in this second half, of course, but that does not mean that they will go all out attack. A patient strategy has been deployed by Oscar Tabarez, but we can surely expect that to change come the final quarter of the game.
A superb cross from Mbappe was right into the mix. Muslera barged through three bodies to get his hand to the ball, with Paul Pogba coming worse off. The midfielder has a hand injury but is now back on the field and OK to continue.
Les Blues have looked brighter in the opening 10 minutes of the second half than they did in the first, which is a big worry for Tabarez. Uruguay have been unable to even think about breaking since the restart.
Uruguay finally able to get out of their own half after being pegged back for the last five minutes. Deschamps will be very happy with the way this second half is panning out, with La Celeste being restricted to very little.
Stuani's confidence has likely just taken a battering after being slated by Suarez for not returning his pass. The Girona ace tried to find his teammate in the middle, only for it to be blocked. Bentancur's shot from range is badly miscued.
URUGUAY SUBS! Uruguay are looking much brighter now, asking plenty of questions of Les Blues' backline. The latest attacking move ends with Caceres hitting the ball high and wide. Maxi Gomez and Cristian Rodriguez are on for Stuani and Bentancur.
GOAL! URUGUAY 0-2 FRANCE (ANTOINE GRIEZMANN)
This is an absolute shocker from Fernando Muslera to gift France a second goal. The experienced goalkeeper has kept three clean sheets in four games in Russia, making 10 saves in the process, but this 25-yard drive from Antoine Griezmann has gone right through his hands and over the line.
Griezmann was almost too embarassed to celebrate that goal! The shot was nothing special, although there was clearly enough swerve on the ball to panic Muslera and he elected to parry it rather than catch (in the end he could do neither!).
Cristian Rodriguez shoots wide from the edge of the box as Uruguay desperately attempt to find a route back into the match. It is all boiling over now, with both sets of places clashing. Not quite sure what happened and nor too does the referee, so VAR will be consulted.
To say it has boiled over is an understatement! There appeared to be a headbutt into the chest of Pogba and the referee now needs to take a couple of minutes to review the situation. There is the potential for a few yellow cards here...
YELLOW CARDS! The official reaches into his pocket without looking back at the incident, showing yellows to Cristian Rodriguez and Kylian Mbappe. In truth, replays show that it was all handbags, instigated by the Uruguayans.
Uruguay's players have completely lost their structure since that second France goal. Les Blues are finding things easy now, so the last thing they want is for Mbappe or Pogba to get themselves sent off. They have to rise above the baiting.
CLOSE! Corentin Tolisso uses Hernandez's run as a decoy and attempts to curl the ball out of Muslera's reach. Just a little too much on it, though, sending it narrowly wide of the target. Nandez has been replaced by Jonathan Urreta.
Uruguay desperately need to find a goal, but they have not really looked like netting all afternoon, other than the double chance for Caceres and Godin late in the first half. It is looking like being a quarter-final exit for them.
Mbappe with superb close-ball control just inside the opposition box. No way through on this occasion, and Olivier Giroud made a mess of the follow-up effort, which floated wide of Muslera's target. A little over 10 minutes left to play here.
FRANCE SUB! Didier Deschamps makes his first alteration of the afternoon, bringing on Steven N'Zonzi for Corentin Tolisso to see things through. Les Blues doing well to eat up the minutes, knowing that they are almost there.
France are not giving anything away at the back, as they continue to frustrate their South American opponents. It is looking like being the most frustrating of exits for Uruguay, who have been undone by two soft goals in Nizhny.
France have not made it to the semi-finals of the World Cup since 2006, so that is one for their supporters to look forward to. Either Brazil or Belgium await, with those two sides due to face off in Kazan a couple of hours from now.
Les Blues are controlling this game so well at the moment. Still just the one change made by Deschamps, which is a little surprising when he has so many players in reserve in need of some minutes under their belt.
FRANCE SUB! Surprised by how little Uruguay have offered since falling two goals behind. Luis Suarez knocks the ball down the line by Rodriguez was never likely to get to it. Ousmane Dembele has now been introduced in place of Kylian Mbappe.
Pogba and Griezmann are controlling this game brilliantly for France. Les Blues win themselves a free kick in a glorious shooting position, but Griezmann can only lift it over the crossbar and into the stands behind the goal.
We have played two of the five added-on minutes in Nizhny Novgorod. Uruguay have not offered much of anything since going two behind; netting twice from this position is simply asking too much. A professional display from Les Blues.
FRANCE SUB! Nabil Fekir comes on as a sub for the fifth match running, taking over from goalscorer Antoine Griezmann. Les Blues now have just 60 seconds to see through which, on the basis of the match as a whole, they should do just fine.
FULL TIME: URUGUAY 0-2 FRANCE
FRANCE THROUGH TO WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS!
France will contest in a World Cup semi-final for the first time since 2006 when finishing as runners-up. Raphael Varane opened the scoring for his side 40 minutes in after getting on the end of a well-delivered free kick, before Antoine Griezmann added a second with a shot that somehow squirmed through Fernando Muslera's grasp.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events from the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while updates from the day's other quarter-final between Brazil and Belgium will begin elsewhere on the site in the next hour. See you then!
