France beat Uruguay 2-0 to book semi-finals spot

Nizhny Novgorod: France outclassed Uruguay 2-0 to enter the semi-finals 2018 at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in on Friday. Raphael Varane and Antoinne Griezmann scored the two goals as France reached their sixth semi-final at the World Cup. A Fernando Muslera howler in the 61st minute handed France a 2-0 lead in the second half of the quarter-final clash. Griezmann hit a powerful shot headed straight to Muslera but he failed to collect it cleanly, and the ball ended up at the back of the net. Raphael Varane had earlier scored with a clinical header in the 40th minute to give France a 1-0 lead over Uruguay at the end of the first half. The first half didn't see any clear-cut chances for either team. Nahitan Nandez had a chance for Uruguay from close range. Uruguay was the better team in the first quarter but they hardly troubled French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Kylian Mbappe had a few good chances for France in the first half, but he couldn't convert them. He had a glorious chance in the 20th minute when his header from six-yards out went way over the goal post. After initial pressure from Uruguay, France got hold of the proceedings and started to dictate the play.