The first match of the World Cup 2018 quarterfinals is the clash between Uruguay and France, played at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on Friday afternoon. Both sides have been pretty impressive on this tournament so far, so their duel is guaranteed to be a lot of fun for the fans. But, what about bettors? If you want to place some money on this game, make sure to read this Uruguay vs. France match preview first!
Uruguay
The whole of Uruguay must be nervously expecting the news about the fitness of one of their key men, Edinson Cavani. The man who scored twice against Portugal in the Round of 16 got injured in that game and according to the doctors, he’s probably going to miss the quarterfinal match. Surely, if that happens, it’s going to be a huge blow for Uruguay. But, they’re not a one man team. Uruguay have plenty of top-quality players in the squad who could cover for Cavani.
Girona’s Christian Stuani will probably be the one who’s going to take Cavani’s place if he fails to recover before the France match. He might not be as famous as Cavani, but Stuani is also very good at scoring goals. In fact, the last season he scored 21 goals in La Liga. Of course, he’s going to be accompanied in the attack by Uruguay’s biggest star, Luis Suarez.
In this game, Uruguay will probably rely more on their defense than attack. In fact, even Antoine Griezmann said that he expects Uruguay to play like Atletico Madrid – focused on defense and looking for their chances from counterattacks and set pieces.
And Uruguay are excellent when it comes to defending. The fact that they’ve allowed only 1 goal so far shows how disciplined they are when protecting their net. It seems that France attackers will have a lot of problems trying to outsmart the experienced defenders of Uruguay, particularly their captain Diego Godin.
France
After an impressive performance in the game against Argentina, France are now big favorites for going to the semifinal. Their forwards played really awesome in that game, especially Kylian Mbappe, who simply ravished Argentina’s defense. But, can they do the same against the well-organized defense of Uruguay?
I think France will take a bit more conservative approach in this match. They’re not going to rush it, but instead play carefully, keeping the ball in their possession as much as possible. They’re likely to try to break Uruguay’s defense with quick through-balls to pacey forwards like Mbappe and Griezmann.
Furthermore, I think Deschamps will also put Giroud in the game, as the strong striker could distract Uruguay’s center-backs, leaving room for other players to go one-on-one with Muslera. Of course, this isn’t going to be an easy job, but I do believe France are up for it.
Possible Lineups
Uruguay:
Muslera – Godin, Gimenez, Pereira, Caceres – Vecino, Bentancur, Carlos Sanchez, Laxalt – Suarez, Stuani
France:
Lloris – Umtiti, Varane, Pavard, Hernandez – Kante, Matuidi, Pogba – Griezmann, Mbappe, Giroud
Uruguay vs. France Match Prediction
It’s the World Cup and each team is motivated to give all they got in order to advance as further as possible. But, the quality is definitely on the side of France, especially if Uruguay’s Cavani misses the game. It’s going to be a big battle, there’s no doubt about that, but I think France will come out of it as the happier side.
Uruguay vs. France Betting Tips
- France to Advance @1.44 (bet365)
- Under 2.5 Goals @1.50 (Unibet)
- Half Time Draw @1.90 (bet365)