French fans celebrate after France defeated Uruguay in the quarterfinal match during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Moscow, Russia, 6 July 2018. Raphael Varane and Antoine Griezmann struck either side of halftime as France earned a World Cup semifinal berth with a 2-0 victory over Uruguay here on Friday (6 July 2018). Varane sent a glancing header into the bottom corner after a Griezmann set piece before the Atletico Madrid forward saw his long-range 61st-minute strike slip through the hands of Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. France have now set up a semifinal clash against the winner of Friday's other quarterfinal between Brazil and Belgium. "We knew that [their defenders] are very strong in the air so we tried to put tall players up front and give them trouble, " Griezmann said after the match. "We knew we didn't have to accept their style. We had to stay positive." It was Uruguay's first defeat of the tournament and marked only the second time out of seven that they have lost a World Cup quarterfinal. Celeste coach Oscar Tabarez admitted that France were the stronger team and deserved to win. "We were lacking what all teams lack when they lose, " he said. "We didn't play as well as our rivals. We really made a huge physical effort in the first 20 minutes but then we weren't able to exploit the chances that we had. Then they scored and that had a huge impact.
