Uruguay

After a 2-0 win over Uruguay in Nizhny Novgorod, France have reached the semi-finals of the World Cup. However, the French won thanks to Raphael Varane's head and Antoine Griezmann's goal, which was favoured by a fault of Fernando Muslera.

France came to live against Argentina. This was a master class in France and proposed that the former winners had at last found their shape. Though the smooth, changing passing and the sharp run continued, France was missing the crucial end result to bring Uruguay into the cross. As it came to the last third, France was responsible for dubbing the football - as shown by a catalog of films and moves tried by some of the Franceans in and around the Uruguay stadium.

Hernandez and Mbappe tried their hand at the theatre's obscure art, but that was a memory of Uruguay never really changing places. With his victories in the last 16 years, it has always been difficult for Mbappe to restore the same shape.

He did well against Uruguay, though. Mbappe, who was highest in the pits to face Olivier Giroud's setup, saw his head high above the crossbar after misjudging the match. Cavani' s expulsion hit Uruguay' s schedule and with it the team' s hope of reaching the semi-finals.

Early on it became clear that the team' s tactic was to disturb the French and catch their rivals during the half. Only without Cavani on the field Uruguay's chance in front of the gate was restricted. With all Luiz Suarez's talents, the South Americans were lacking this threatening corporeal footprint and were struggling to make their mark in the last third.

However, when the going got tough, Griezmann was more than lucky to supply for the French. Join the Independent Sport on Instagram here for the best pictures, video and storytelling from around the game.