The dream of World Cup glory lives on for France and Corentin Tolisso after they beat Uruguay 2-0 in Friday’s quarter-final in Nizhny Novgorod. Les Bleus will now face either Brazil or Belgium in the semi-finals on Tuesday (20:00 CEST).
Both sides exchanged blows from the start in front of 43,319 spectators, but chances to score remained rare. The French, who started with Tolisso in place of the suspended Blaise Matuidi, saw much more of the ball but struggled to break down the South Americans’ compact defence.
However, the breakthrough came on 40 minutes when Raphael Varane headed home Antoine Griezmann’s cross after a free-kick won by Tolisso. After the break, France benefited from a mistake by goalkeeper Fernando Muslera to double their lead after he failed to hold Griezmann’s shot from the edge of the box. The 1998 champions did not let this lead slip as the Uruguayans failed to threaten further without injured goalscorer Edinson Cavani.