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France and Belgium will meet in semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup at the stadium St. Petersburg Tuesday after both teams won Friday.
The Blues beat Uruguay 2-0 in the quarterfinals with goals from Raphael Varane and Antoine Griezmann
Belgium eliminated Brazil, Fernandinho's favorite, before doubling Kevin De Bruyne in their lead, Renato Augusto withdrew one for Selecao, but they failed to equalize.
Results
Uruguay 2-0 France
Brazil 1-2 Belgium
FIFA World Cup ? @ FIFAWorldCup
SEMI- FINAL 1 CONFIRMED!
Tuesday, July 10
St Petersburg Stadium
France against Belgium#FRABEL // #WorldCup https://t.co/rtmmSMJeAb[19459009Äù19459017lb19459018lb
Uruguay has was forced to do without striker Edinson Cavani for his clash with France; he failed to recover from a veal problem picked up against Portugal in the round of 16 and did only the bench. Cristhian Stuani played in his place, but Cavani was missed while Uruguay was eliminated from the tournament.
An intense first half started in life five minutes before the break when France took the lead. Rodrigo Bentancur conceded a free kick just out of the box, and Les Bleus took full advantage. Griezmann swayed in the ball, and Varane rose the highest to take a look at goalkeeper Fernando Muslera
Opta highlighted Varane's air capacity:
OptaJose @ OptaJose [19659010] 7 – Seven of Varane's last nine goals for #FRA and Real Madrid have been with the lead. Specialist #WorldCup #URUFRA https://t.co/QF5DkGXm9h
Uruguay should have equalized a few minutes later after receiving a similar chance of a free kick. Martin Caceres managed to take the lead but failed to thwart Hugo Lloris, who dipped to the right to keep it from scoring.
France improved after the break and doubled its lead at the hour of play. Griezmann tried his luck with a shot from outside the box, which slipped between Muslera's hands and in the back of the net.
Squawka Football showed how the goalkeepers fought at the World Cup:
Squawka Football @ Squawka
Fernando Muslera is now the ninth goalkeeper to make a mistake that led to a goal in the #WorldCup 2018.
The worst step possible to do it. ? https://t.co/ARkrvUujfU
It was a bad mistake of the goalkeeper and actually settled the tie. Uruguay did not fail to engage but struggled to trouble France, which controlled the match well and saw it comfortably.
Ben Hayward of Goal offered his point of view on the match:
Ben Hayward @ bghayward [19659012] #FRA more effective than brilliant, but #URU very hard to beat and the French have not scored against them in the last five meetings. This, although not a vintage victory, was a big one. And against #BRA or #BEL they will have more space to attack in the semi-finals.
France will face Belgium for a place in the final in what promises to be a fascinating semifinal. The team of Roberto Martinez beat Brazil on Friday and hoped to go to the end.
Brazil almost opened the scoring after eight minutes of play when Thiago Silva was stripped of his post. Belgium took the lead shortly after, with Nacer Chadli's corner being deflected by midfielder Fernandinho Alisson.
A powerful advantage from Romelu Lukaku allowed Belgium to take second place after half an hour. The striker shot De Bruyne, who shot a low shot to let the Selecao on the verge of being eliminated.
Goal highlighted the effectiveness of Lukaku:
Goal UK @ GoalUK
Romelu Lukaku has been directly involved in 20 goals in his last 13 appearances for Belgium (17 goals, 3 assists) #BEL https://t.co/e3iDBKwbBL[19659039LeshommesdeTitesontrevenusendeuxièmemi-tempsetonteudel'espoirquandAugustos'estdirigéverslamaisonunesuperbepassedePhilippeCoutinhoL'hommedeBarceloneaalorsoffertuneexcellenteoccasionau-dessusdubancetNeymaraétébrillammentdémentiparThibautCourtoistardivement
C'est another surprising result in a tournament more and more unpredictable. France and Belgium are two of the strongest teams in the competition, and the winner of Tuesday's match is likely to be the favorite to win the World Cup.
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