FIFA Quarterfinals Review: Match Day 1

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FIFA Quarterfinals Review: Match Day 1

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(WebDesk) – The Quarterfinals of the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup kicked off on Friday as four very competitive teams locked horns with one another in the hopes of taking one-step further in pursuit of lifting the coveted trophy come July 15.

The tournament, that has greatly exceeded fans expectations in terms of thrill and competitiveness, is being termed as one of the best World Cups of recent times. With most of the big guns already been knocked out of the tournament, the fans expect the rest of the tournament to be highly competitive and exciting; something that was delivered with full flow by the teams in the first round of the quarterfinals.

Have a look below at how the events eventually panned out on Saturday evening in Russia.

France vs Uruguay

Both the teams came into the quarterfinals on the back of an impressive run of form. France stepped onto the pitch with three wins and a draw out of their last four tournament clashes whilst Uruguay were looking to complete five wins on the trot. The match started, however, with France favorites to edge past their opponents.

The match kicked off amidst constant sparring and vying for the ball. Earlier on, the game was all about who kept the ball on their feet for the longest time, as the two teams eased into the match. The first chance of the night eventually fell to Uruguay when Matias Vecino had his weak volley saved by French captain and goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris. France eventually broke the deadlock soon after when star player Antoinne Griezmann whipped a free kick that eventually met Raphael Varane’s head with the ball ending into the net. The Uruguayans tried to imitate the attempt in the dying embers of the first half but Hugo Lloris came to the rescue once again as the French made a superb save to keep the score 1-0 at half-time.

Rapahael Varane headed home to hand his side the lead.

A superman like save from Hugo Lloris kept the score to 1-0 heading into the second half. Photo: Daily World

The second half was all about French domination, as the Uruguayan defence couldn’t cope up with the French attack. Antoinne Griezmann translated the domination with a strike that doubled France’s lead. The strike from outside the box, although powerful and accurate, should’ve been save by the veteran Uruguayan goalkeeper but he committed a blunder that proved to be too costly for the South Americans.

Muslera’s grave mistake gifted France a ticket to semifinals of the World Cup. Photo: Twitter

The second goal was enough to ensureFrance a semifinal spot.

Star Player

Antoinne Griezmann

Griezmann once again turned out to be the French hero as his star performance helped France qualify for the Semifinals of the World Cup in Russia. The 27-year-old came up with the goods against a stubborn Uruguay side. His free kick not only assisted Raphael Varane with the opener, his powerful strike from outside the box forced veteran goalkeeper Fernando Muslera into a mistake that was enough to see France through to the next stage.

Belgium vs Brazil

The other quarterfinal that took place in the evening featured five time world champions Brazil who took on Belgium; the dark horses of the tournament. Both the teams came into the tie riding high on confidence on the back of an unbeaten record. Brazil had bagged three wins and a draw whilst Belgium stepped onto the pitch, with a perfect record with wins in all four encounters. On paper, however, things were quite different. Given the experience and flair of the Brazilian outfit, the five time world champions were hot favorites to book a place in the Semifinals.

As expected Brazil started the match brightly piling constant pressure on the Belgian defence with aggressive attacks. Belgium, however, saw an advantage in this entire scenario as they looked to break on the counter with pace and precision. The game saw its first goal relatively early on, as an Eden Hazard corner met the head of Vincent Kompany who struck the ball onto Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho’s shoulder eventually leading to the opener. The own goal gave the Belgians a surprise lead. Belgium however, refused to hold back even after scoring the opener. Exactly 13 minutes later, Romelu Lukaku led another counter attack and passed the ball onto ace midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who struck a sweetly accurate shot into the corner of the Brazilian net to double his country’s lead. Brazil tried fighting back with a couple of attacks but Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois refused to concede as he produced stunning saves to deny Neymar at full stretch. His heroics meant that his side went into the half time with a two-goal cushion.

Kompany’s deflected header gave his side the lead in the first 15 minutes of the match. Photo: Getty Images

De Bruyne’s impeccable strike doubled Belgian’s lead in the 26th minute. Photo: Sports Illustrated

The Belgium goalkeeper produced some fine saves to keep the score to 2-0 in the first half.

Sparring and aerial battles continued as the Brazilian midfield tried its best to keep possession and fight back to save the match. Substitute Renato Augusto came up with the goods late on in the 76th minute as he headed home from close range following a sublime chip from Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilians continued attacking in the hope of equalizing but got denied constantly by the Belgian goalkeeper who produced some very impressive saves late on.

Augusto got one back for his side as he headed home soon after coming on in the second half. Photo: FIFA

Brazil couldn’t get past a rock solid Courtois who produced a stunning save off a Neymar shot late in the second half. Photo: Twitter

The game eventually finished 2-1 as Belgians booked a place in the last four of the world cup, knocking the hot favorites out of Russia.

Star Player

Thibaut Courtois

In a match that featured a flood of high-paced attacks, Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois produced a man-of-the-match performance to ensure his country’s qualification to the next round. The 26-year-old made breathtaking saves especially in both the halves as Brazil tried their best to fight back. Hadn’t it been for the eight saves made by the goalie, Belgium would have been in deep trouble. His heroics made sure that Belgium reach the last four of the World Cup.

By: Raacikh Asghar