World Cup 2018: Uruguay 0-2 France – Hits and flops from the game
One has to go back as far as 1924, to understand the rivalry between these two footballing nations. It was the South Americans who drew first blood, beating them 5-1 in the quarterfinals before dazzling their way to the Olympic gold. Since then, these sides have rarely played against each other.
Their last encounter at a World Cup tournament was the 2010 World Cup, where the match ended goallessly. If one goes back a bit further, it was in 2002 when these sides clashed and again the result was a goalless draw. So coming into this game, one could have been pretty skeptical about how the game may have played out.
La Celeste coming into this game had only conceded a single goal, a Pepe header in the last 16 knockout stages and started off on a solid platform, as they looked to shut down the French attacking threat. While bad news had come in the form of Cavani injury, one still expected them to challenge.
If one were to compare teams, then Uruguay was a team of street smarts and probably would have had a better chance had they had Cavani available. Instead, it was France who started with a full strength team and a certain element of ominous bearing, not for them but their opponents.
With both teams looking to achieve their objective of reaching the semi-final, it was no wonder that it was a game which saw aggression and tenacity go hand in hand. Players from both sides looked to stamp their mark on the game. As the game progressed players went into challenges some legit, some not legit and a testament to that was the foul count which had a total tally 30 fouls – 15 per side.
But that was the closest Uruguay came to France. A couple of soft goals meant France comfortably took the lead and were able to dictate the pace of the play as they meandered their way to a semi-final where they will now either meet Brazil or Belgium.
#5 Hit: Hugo Lloris
Having secured the lead via a Raphael Varane glancing header, the French were looking to go into half-time and build on their lead. Having seen their counterparts take the lead, meant that Uruguay had to attack more and they were immediately on the front foot as they raced down the other end to win a free-kick.
Hugo Lloris, the French captain, and the keeper took his time and yelled out his instructions before taking his place in goal. What followed after that was nothing short of a supermanesque effort by the Spurs keeper.
As the ball was floated inside the France box, it was Martin Caceres who rose highest as he headed a thumping header which was destined for the bottom corner. Somehow, Lloris palmed away the ball and the follow up was blasted over by Diego Godin, as France held on to their lead.
His effort to keep out the ball was the turning point of the game, as an equalizer for Uruguay at that point of time would probably have put the pressure back on France. The Golden Glove is still a couple of games away but given the chance, Lloris would probably forsake personal glory for team glory. And if that does happen, then the save on the stroke of half-time will probably go down as the save of the tournament.