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FIFA World Cup 2018 quarterfinals: France, Belgium beat Uruguay, Brazil
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July 9, 2018
Original URL: https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Cup_2018_quarterfinals:_France,_Belgium_beat_Uruguay,_Brazil
On Friday, France defeated Uruguay 2 -- 0 in the FIFA football World Cup
quarter-finals and Brazil lost 1 -- 2 against Belgium. With this defeat
only countries from the UEFA Confederation are now remaining in the
tournament.
== France vs Uruguay ==
France faced Uruguay at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. The French side had
better ball possession. Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani was rested for
the match and Luis Suárez faced his FC Barcelona teammate Samuel Umtiti
in the quarter-final clash. Both the sides had early attempts to open
the scoring. Uruguay blocked N'Golo Kanté's 12th-minute attempt for a
goal. Three minutes later, Kylian Mbappé missed a chance from Olivier
Giroud's pass to put France in the lead. In the 19th minute, Paul Pogba
also had an attempt for goal but went wide. France opened the scoring in
the 40th minute when Raphaël Varane scored a header from Antoine
Griezmann's assist. Minutes before the half-time, Hugo Lloris saved a
shot preventing Uruguay from equalising, and Diego Godín missed a
close-range shot. The first half ended with France having a one-goal
lead.
In the second half, just after the one-hour mark, Griezmann doubled the
lead for France, scoring a goal from outside the penalty area from
Corentin Tolisso's assist. In the final ten minutes of the 90-minute
play, French side made two substitutions, as Steven N'Zonzi and Ousmane
Dembélé replaced Tolisso and Mbappé. The match ended 2 -- 0.
After the match, France's coach Didier Deschamps said, "We had done
something big against Argentina and today we have again raised our
level. 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."
Uruguayan coach Óscar Tabárez said, "The boys really gave everything,
but France were able to control the match very well. After the second
goal, there was a huge gap between the teams."
With this victory, UEFA Euro 2016-finalists France reached the
semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup for the sixth time.
== Brazil vs Belgium ==
Brazil faced Belgium at the Kazan Arena. After Uruguay's defeat against
France, Brazil was the only South American nation left in the
tournament. The South Americans had better ball possession. In the 8th
minute, Brazilian captain Thiago Silva missed a chance to open the
scoring as his header rebounded from the goalpost. Belgian defender
Vincent Kompany missed a header in the 13th minute from Nacer Chadli
assist, but Fernandinho scored an own goal, giving Belgium an early
lead. A couple of minutes later, Gabriel Jesus had an attempt to
equalise, from Neymar's assist, but the shot was blocked. Marcelo also
attempted for a goal in the 26th minute but was saved.
In the 31st minute, Kevin De Bruyne scored from outside the penalty
area, doubling the lead for Belgium, assisted by Romelu Lukaku. Six
minutes later, Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saved a long-range
shot by Philippe Coutinho. The first half ended and Belgium had a
two-goal advantage.
At the start of the second half, Brazil made a substitution as Roberto
Firmino replaced Willian. Paulinho had an attempt in the 55th minute.
Paulinho was substituted off in the 73rd minute for Renato Augusto and
just three minutes after coming on, Augusto scored the first goal for
Brazil in the 76th minute. Chadli was subbed off in the 83rd minute due
to injury and was replaced by Thomas Vermaelen. Brazil tried to score an
equaliser, but the match ended 2 -- 1 as Belgium advanced to the
semi-final.
After the match, Belgium's coach Roberto Martinez said, "Brazil have so
much finesse and you know that they can cut you open. But I didn't think
for one second that the players would give up. They've done something
special and I hope everyone in Belgium is very, very proud. It has
created a nice memory and we should treasure it. But now we need more
energy for our next game to try to make sure we're just as good in the
semi-finals."
Brazil's coach Tite said, ""I thought it was a great match and we had a
lot of it, with plenty of possession and a lot of opportunities. But
Belgium were more effective in converting their opportunities. They have
a lot of top players and finished well. Thibaut Courtois also made a
real difference. For all the pain I feel right now, if you like
football, you have to watch this game. It's going to give you pleasure."
Belgium is now scheduled to face France in the semi-finals.
Cristian Rodríguez
|goals2 = Raphaël Varane
Antoine Griezmann
Lucas Hernández
Kylian Mbappé
|stadium = Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
|attendance = 43,319
|referee = Néstor Pitana (Argentina)
}}
----
Fernandinho
Fangar
|goals2 = Fernandinho
Kevin de Bruyne
Toby Alderweireld
Thomas Meunier
|stadium = Kazan Arena, Kazan, Russia
|attendance = 42,873
|referee = Milorad Mažić (Serbia)
}}
== Sources ==
* https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/match/300331543/#match-liveblog
* https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44652179
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YK4o-Gbppg
|pub = You Tube
|date = July 6, 2018
}}
* https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/match/300331538/#match-liveblog
* https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44652178
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8IK0ZqfxNI
|pub = You Tube
|date = July 6, 2018
}}
.