International Friendly: France 1-0 Uruguay - 5 Talking Points
For the second time in four days, Uruguay went down after conceding a penalty as Olivier Giroud lifted France to a win by nonchalantly dispatching from the spot.
Unlike their World Cup meeting earlier in the year, this game wasn't only short on stakes but also fireworks as France and Uruguay went through the motions. Chances did come at either end, but only very occasionally whereas the penalty was also a dubious one as the ball didn't actually hit Martin Caceres' hands.
The world champions also lost Kylian Mbappe early on to a shoulder injury, but that didn't prove detrimental to the results as Giroud ensured France are home and hosed and concluded a highly successful 2018.
Here are the major talking points from the match:
#1 Uruguay defeated by another penalty, but it was a case of officiating error
On Friday, the Celeste lost out to their great Latin American rivals Brazil after Neymar converted from the spot. Diego Laxalt brought down Danilo inside the area after what was a nasty challenge and hence a clear foul. Though the settings today changed to the French capital from the Emirates, there were similar scenes as Uruguay conceded another penalty.
Except this time it wasn't a legitimate one.
A penalty box melee saw Antoine Griezmann's effort come off Laxalt's shoulder, but the match official gave in to the penalty appeals by immediately pointing to the spot. A VAR review could've helped with a fair judgement, but the referee had no qualms about his decision.
What else, Giroud did the rest. Uruguayan goalkeeper Martin Campana chose the correct direction to lunge, but the Chelsea forward had struck it with enough venom to drive it home.
Hard luck Uruguay, hard luck.