Quarterfinal Recaps: France Move on, Belgium Withstand Brazilian Attack

Two of the semi-finalists were revealed for this World Cup as two of the quarterfinals were played today. The first game featured France and Uruguay. France had a chance when Kylian Mbappe headed a ball over the crossbar after his teammate Olivier Giroud set it up for him. In the 40th minute, Antoine Griezmann's long free kick was deflected into the back of the net by Raphael Varane, giving France the lead. Five minutes later, Uruguay had a long free kick of their own, in which French keeper Hugo Lloris dove to stop Martin Caceres' header, before Diego Godin blasted the rebound over the bar from just a yard out. France sealed the win in the 61st when Uruguay's keeper Fernando Muslera let the ball in his net. Griezmann's shot went directly to Muslera, but his parried attempt went behind him, falling into the net. Uruguay, without their main forward Edinson Cavani due to injury, were eliminated with 2-0 result.

In the Brazil-Belgium match, multiple close-range opportunities happened early, and frequently as well. In the 8th minute, Thiago Silva of Brazil had his header hit the near post before Belgian keeper Thibaut Courtois retrieved it. In the 13th minute, Belgium went up when a corner from Nacer Chadli redirected off Vincent Kompany before hitting Brazil's Fernandinho's arm, landing inside the net for an own goal. Kevin De Bruyne made it 2-0 in the 31st after receiving a pass from Romelu Lukaku. De Bruyne calmly put his strike into the far left post, beating Brazil's keeper Alisson. In the 37th minute, Philippe Coutinho had a curling shot stopped by a diving Courtois, who also stopped Gabriel Jesus' header minutes before that. Brazil also claimed they had two penalty shouts, only to be denied by VAR. In the 76th, substitute Renato Augusto calmly placed his header past Courtois into the net after a cross from Coutinho. Later on, Brazil nearly made it 2-2 when Coutinho, after receiving a nice back pass from Neymar, skied him attempt in the 84th. But the best chance for Brazil to tie it came in the 3rd minute of stoppage time, when Neymar's shot just outside the box was denied by a diving Courtois. Belgium held on to secure their spot in the semis, and will play France next.

Muslera's gaffe ended up with his punch landing the ball into his own net