The following is a match centre with betting tips for the 2018 FIFA World Cup quarter-final fixture between Uruguay and France. The game kicks off on the 7th of July at 12:00 AM AEST. It will be broadcast live on SBS.
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Uruguay
- FIFA World Rank: 14
- Elo Rating: 12
- Qualifying: Second place in the CONMEBOL qualifiers with a 9-4-5 record.
Squad:
- Coach: Óscar Tabárez
- Goalkeepers: Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray), Martin Silva (Vasco da Gama), Martin Campana (Independiente)
- Defenders: Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid), Sebastian Coates (Sporting Lisbon), Jose Maria Gimenez (Atletico Madrid), Maximiliano Pereira (FC Porto), Gaston Silva (Independiente), Martin Caceres (Lazio), Guillermo Varela (Penarol)
- Midfielders: Nahitan Nandez (Boca Juniors), Lucas Torreira (Sampdoria), Matias Vecino (Inter Milan), Federico Valverde (Real Madrid), Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus), Carlos Sanchez (Monterrey), Giorgian De Arrascaeta (Cruzeiro), Diego Laxalt (Genoa), Cristian Rodriguez
- Forwards: Cristhian Stuani (Girona), Maximiliano Gomez (Celta Vigo), Edinson Cavani (PSG), Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Recent results:
- Uruguay 2 – 1 Portugal
30/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Uruguay 3 – 0 Russia
25/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Uruguay 1 – 0 Saudi Arabia
20/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Egypt 0 – 1 Uruguay
15/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Uruguay 3 – 0 Uzbekistan
07/06/2018
Friendly, played in Uruguay - Wales 0 – 1 Uruguay
26/03/2018
Friendly, played in China - Uruguay 2 – 0 Czech Republic
23/03/2018
Friendly, played in China - Austria 2 – 1 Uruguay
14/11/2017
Friendly, played in Austria - Poland 0 – 0 Uruguay
10/11/2017
Friendly, played in Poland - Uruguay 4 – 2 Bolivia
10/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Uruguay - Venezuela 0 – 0 Uruguay
05/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Venezuela - Paraguay 1 – 2 Uruguay
05/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Paraguay
Statistics: (last four years):
- H2H Record: 23-9-12
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 40-4
- O/U 1.5 record: 29-15
- O/U 2.5 record: 25-19
- O/U 3.5 record: 10-34
- O/U 4.5 record: 4-40
- O/U 5.5 record: 3-41
- Wins
- Total wins: 23
- Won by 1 goal: 11
- Won by 2 goals: 3
- Won by 3 goals: 7
- Won by 4 goals: 2
- Won by 5 goals: 0
- Won by 5+ goals: 0
- Won to nil 17
- Losses
- Total losses: 12
- Lost by 1 goal: 7
- Lost by 2 goals: 3
- Lost by 3 goals: 2
- Lost by 4 goals: 0
- Lost by 5 goals: 0
- Lost by 5+ goals: 0
- Lost to nil 5
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 44
- Clean Sheets: 21
- Held Scoreless: 9
- Both Teams Scored: 18
France
- FIFA World Rank: 7
- Elo Rating: 4
- Qualifying: Won Group A with a 7-2-1 record in the UEFA Confederation qualification.
Squad:
- Coach: Didier Deschamps
- Goalkeepers: Alphone Areola (Paris St Germain), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Steve Mandanda (Olympique de Marseille)
- Defenders: Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris St Germain), Benjamin Pavard (VfB Stuttgart), Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City), Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Adil Rami (Olympique de Marseille), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
- Midfielders: Blaise Matuidi (Juventus), N'Golo Kante (Chelsea), Steven N'Zonzi (Sevilla), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich)
- Forwards: Olivier Giroud (Chelsea), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Kylian Mbappe (Paris St Germain), Thomas Lemar (Monaco), Nabil Fekir (Olympique Lyonnais), Florian Thauvin (Olympique de Marseille), Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona)
Recent results:
- France 4 – 3 Argentina
30/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Denmark 0 – 0 France
26/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - France 1 – 0 Peru
21/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - France 2 – 1 Australia
16/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - France 1 – 1 USA
09/06/2018
Friendly, played in France - France 3 – 1 Italy
01/06/2018
Friendly, played in France - France 2 – 0 Ireland
28/05/2018
Friendly, played in France - Russia 1 – 3 France
27/03/2018
Friendly, played in Russia - France 2 – 3 Colombia
23/03/2018
Friendly, played in France - Germany 2 – 2 France
14/11/2017
Friendly, played in Germany - France 2 – 0 Wales
10/11/2017
Friendly, played in France - France 2 – 1 Belarus
10/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in France
Statistics: (last four years):
- H2H Record: 36-9-9
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 49-5
- O/U 1.5 record: 40-14
- O/U 2.5 record: 29-25
- O/U 3.5 record: 18-36
- O/U 4.5 record: 10-44
- O/U 5.5 record: 4-50
- Wins
- Total wins: 36
- Won by 1 goal: 18
- Won by 2 goals: 11
- Won by 3 goals: 4
- Won by 4 goals: 2
- Won by 5 goals: 1
- Won by 5+ goals: 0
- Won to nil 17
- Losses
- Total losses: 9
- Lost by 1 goal: 6
- Lost by 2 goals: 3
- Lost by 3 goals: 0
- Lost by 4 goals: 0
- Lost by 5 goals: 0
- Lost by 5+ goals: 0
- Lost to nil 5
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 54
- Clean Sheets: 22
- Held Scoreless: 10
- Both Teams Scored: 27
Commentary
Uruguay qualified for the Round of 16 with a match to spare after they dispatched both Egypt and Saudi Arabia by 1-0 scorelines. In their most impressive display of the tournament, they then defeated hosts Russia 3-0 to win Group A. In the Round of 16, Uruguay defeated Portugal 2-1, with Edinson Cavani’s excellent 7th and 62nd minute goals securing the win. The main sour note of the result was Cavani limping of the field with a calf injury. Also of concern is they only had 30% of second half possession and only registered one shot in the second spell, which happened to be the game winner. While Uruguay are well feared for their attacking threat, featuring Edinson Cavani, Luis Suarez & co., the most impressive aspect of their form is their defence. Pepe’s goal for Portugal is the only time in seven matches that Uruguay have conceded in 2018. While Uruguay did make a slow start to the World Cup, they have looked stronger with every game. The main talking point leading up to this clash is the health of Cavani. A muscle tear has been ruled out, however Cavani didn’t train with the squad on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.
France also qualified for the Round of 16 with a match to spare after they defeated Australia 2-1 and Peru 1-0. They then made six changes to the team and drew Denmark in a low-intensity game in which a draw suited both sides. In the Round of 16 France came back from 1-2 down to see off Argentina 4-3. Kylian Mbappe scored France’s 3rd and 4th goals to secure the win. It was Mbappe who drew Argentina into committing a first half penalty that was converted by Antoine Griezmann. France’s form in the group stage hadn’t lived up to expectations, with the side failing to find any consistent rhythm, however against Argentina they found another gear. Since losing to Portugal in the Euro 2016 final, France have only lost one of their last 14 competitive games, going 10-3-1. The only sour note to their Round of 16 win was the 3 goals conceded. France had been defensively sound during the group stage, conceding only 5 shots on target during three matches with their only conceded goal coming from the penalty spot following a bizarre handball. In team news, Blaise Matuidi is out for this match due to a suspension for accumulating two yellow cards.
Betting
bet365 odds (subject to change):
Compare the latest bookmaker odds for Uruguay vs. France
The history between Uruguay and France is astonishing. Only one goal in total has been scored in their last five meetings.
15 Jul 1966 – France v Uruguay – 1-2 – FIFA World Cup
21 Aug 1985 – France v Uruguay – 2-0 – Inter Continental Championship
06 Jun 2002 – France v Uruguay – 0-0 – FIFA World Cup
19 Nov 2008 – France v Uruguay – 0-0 – International Friendly
11 Jun 2010 – Uruguay v France – 0-0 – FIFA World Cup
15 Aug 2012 – France v Uruguay – 0-0 – International Friendly
05 Jun 2013 – Uruguay v France – 1-0 – International Friendly
Source: 11v11.com
Much of this outcome will come down to the fitness of Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani. At the time of writing it appears he is unlikely to play, so Cristhian Stuani is expected to partner Luis Suarez up front. Cavani’s absence would be a major blow. He has scored each of Uruguay’s last three goals and he has worked well in tandem with Suarez. Given their defensive qualities, however, Uruguay are still a good chance of progressing. They’ve won seven games on the trot and have only conceded one goal during that stretch.
It’s hard to make a case for France losing this fixture either. They’ve gone 6-2-0 in their last eight games and are unbeaten in nine World Cup games against South American opponents, keeping clean sheets in seven of them. France have progressed on four of the last five occasions they’ve reached the quarter-finals stage, with the sole exception being a 0-1 defeat against Germany in 2014.
I expect Uruguay will keep this tight. Defensively they’ve been far superior than Argentina this tournament, so I’m not expecting the same high scoring affair that we saw in France’s Round of 16 fixture. Either team could nick it with a goal, while a 0-0 or 1-1 90-minute score wouldn’t surprise me either.
Betting tip: back under 2.5 goals at 1.56 (Betfair)
Notes
- FIFA World rankings are from the 7th of June and sourced from https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/index.html
- The World Football Elo Ratings are from the 11th of June and are based on the Elo rating system, developed by Dr. Arpad Elo. This system is used by the international chess federation to rate chess players and is considered by many to be a superior rating tool to the one used by FIFA. The ratings have been sourced from https://www.eloratings.net/.
- Squad lists sourced from http://www.skysports.com/football/news/12098/11374464/every-world-cup-squad-listed-argentina-brazil-russia-and-more