Uruguay will be looking to continue their superb run of form in the tournament when they come up against a highly-favoured France team in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup. Both Les Bleus and Uruguay come off tricky ties, being the two nations to knock Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo out respectively. There’s no doubting their World Cup pedigree at this stage of the tournament, and despite France being odds-on favourites, it will be by no means a straightforward matchup.
To win
Uruguay 7/2
Draw 21/10
France 19/20
Uruguay
Despite the 2-1 scoreline, it would almost be fair to say that Uruguay cruised into the last eight, where they weren’t really tested against Portugal. Oscar Tabarez’s men took the lead twice in the game, courtesy of Edinson Cavani, who, to be honest, was quiet for most of his World Cup campaign.
But the Paris Saint-Germain forward stepped up when his country needed him 
and linked up well with Luis Suarez to break the Portuguese’s hearts. That win brought a fresh sense of optimism in the Uruguayan camp, and they’ll surely feel that they can go all the way.
Despite Cavani and Suarez grabbing the headlines for their amazing partnership, for me, Diego Godin has been a wall for Uruguay and actually has a case for being a contender for Player of the Tournament.
Against Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest of the Portugal team, he kept the European champions at bay, with goalkeeper, Fernando Muslera, not truly tested in goals. They’ll certainly fancy their chances, but this will undoubtedly be their toughest test yet.
France
France will come up against a side unlike others they’ve faced so far in the tournament when they square up against Uruguay. Didier Deschamps’ men come off the back of what was arguably the match of the tournament, beating Argentina 4-3 in a game that tested France’s World Cup winning credentials.
Kylian Mbappe was the star of the show as he ran riot against the Argentines, making bursting runs from deep and twinkle-toeing his way into the opposition box. It seems that leading the line of attack is not his best position, and it showed when he played just behind Olivier Giroud.
A tie of this calibre will need every player at their best, and Antoine Griezmann has been far from what he is capable of. Although, judging by the way Uruguay set up, Griezmann might have a trick up his sleeve, as the South American giants play a similar brand of football to his club, Atletico Madrid.
“Uruguay will be like Atletico, they will take their time, fall, go to the referee,” the Frenchman said after their victory over Argentina.
“We will have to get used to that because the match will be boring and they will want to bring us into that,” he concluded.
It will take a moment of brilliance to break down Uruguay, and you get the feeling that Griezmann will be the player to produce something special on the day.
Probable line-ups:
Uruguay: 4-4-2
Muslera; Caceres, Gimenez, Godin, Laxalt; Torreira, Nandez, Vecino, Bentancur; Suarez, Cavani.
France: 4-2-3-1
Lloris; Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Hernandez; Kante, Pogba; Mbappe, Griezmann, Dembele, Giroud.
Prediction: Uruguay (7/2)
Since the start of the tournament, Uruguay have really been impressive. They’ve shown respect to every nation that they have come up against, and in the end, it payed off as they’re yet to finish a game as second best. France’s weak points were exposed against Argentina, and although they looked ruthless in attack, Uruguay are my pick to edge it – great value at 7/2!
Jesse Nagel
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