Uruguay VS France Match Prediction
2018-07-06
14:00:00
Uruguay
VS
France
Our Prediction Tip
France will win this match.
2018-07-0614:00:00 France will win this match.
France have won just one of their seven previous matches against Uruguay and have failed to even score against them in the five games since that sole 2-0 win in 1985. The next four games, including group stage matches at the 2002 and 2010 World Cups, all finished goalless before Uruguay won their most recent match – a friendly in 2013 – thanks to Luis Suarez’s goal.
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Uruguay have won all seven of the matches they have played in 2018
France are unbeaten in eight games, with six wins and two draws.
France have only beaten Uruguay once in seven attempts, failing to score in the last five matches.
Kylian Mbappe has now scored four goals in his last five appearances for France.
Uruguay boast a 100 per cent record so far in Russia, with four wins from four, and a superior head-to-head record against France, but they start as outsiders for this quarter-final match.
If Edinson Cavani is missing, as looks likely to be the case, France will definitely be favourites after they stepped things up in style against Argentina.
The 4-3 win was a vast improvement on the scrappy games that characterized France’s group-stage progression and with Kylian Mbappe in the goals they will be confident of breaking down Uruguay’s stubborn defence.
Portugal were the first team to score against Uruguay in 2018 but France have the armoury to become the second – Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud joining Mbappe in a fierce attacking line-up.
Uruguay will not be pushovers – Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez are rock-solid at the heart of a defence which looks much stronger than the Argentine equivalent.
But France have won six of their last eight matches and will be confident of ending Uruguay’s winning streak given – Portugal aside – it has been weaker opposition they have faced.
This could be close, particularly given Uruguay’s defensive record, but France have the firepower needed to book their place in the quarter-finals.
France are favourites to beat Uruguay but can be backed at 21/20 with Betway to win this quarter-final match and book their place in the last four.
Edinson Cavani’s injury will be a huge blow to Uruguay but they are solid defensively and there will be very little between the two teams. A France win by one goal returns 12/5 with Bet365, Betfair and Paddy Power, while a one-goal winning margin to either team is 5/4 with Betway.
Both teams to score has been set at 27/20 with Betfair and 23/17 with 10Bet and 888sport – both sides scored in each of these teams’ last-16 matches. A France win and BTTS enhances those odds to 9/2 with Bet365 and 888sport.
Kylian Mbappe has scored three times now after his double against Argentina. He is 11/5 with Bet365 to find the net at any time, while Antoine Griezmann – who will be on penalty duty if France are awarded a spot-kick – is a best price of 21/10 with Betfair and Paddy Power to score at any time.
1) France to win at 21/20 with Betway
2) Winning margin = one goal at 5/4 with Betway
3) Both teams to score at 27/20 with Betfair
France stepped things up a gear to beat Argentina and, though Uruguay have impressed so far and are on an eight-match winning streak, the French will be hard to beat in the quarter-finals. They have the strikers to break through Uruguay’s solid defence, and can snatch a narrow victory.
After scoring twice against Portugal, Edinson Cavani is a doubt to face France in the quarter-finals due to a calf injury. The latest mixed news from the Uruguayan camp stated it was possible but not probable he would play against the country in which he plays domestically for PSG. If he misses out, Girona striker Cristhian Stuani looks likely to be the man who partners Luis Suarez up front. Uruguay stuck with the same 4-4-2 diamond formation for their wins against Russia and Portugal and are likely to deploy it again against France.
Luis Suarez - Scored two goals in the group stage to move to 53 from 102 appearances for Uruguay - he is their top all-time goalscorer.
Edinson Cavani - It is easy to see why Uruguay are so desperate for Cavani to be fit, given he has scored three times in the last two matches and has 45 in total for the national team.
Diego Godin - Uruguay's hugely experienced captain led the back four to six consecutive clean sheets before the Portugal game. He must now keep Kylian Mbappe and co quiet.
Uruguay 2-1 Portugal
Uruguay booked their place in the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup thanks to Edinson Cavani's double against Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal, the European champions. Cavani opened the scoring on seven minutes to give Uruguay team a half-time lead, and then reinstated their lead after Pepe had equalised.
Oscar Tabarez's side had just 33 per cent of the possession and five shots to Portugal's 13 but held on to win 2-1 - despite Cavani limping off with a calf injury.
Uruguay have now won seven out of seven in 2018 and are yet to concede a goal. China Cup victory in March - with Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez in the goals - was followed by a 3-0 friendly win against Uzbekistan and now four consecutive wins in Russia. They beat Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the hosts in the group stage, all without conceding a goal, before their 2-1 win against Portugal in the last 16.
Blaise Matuidi is suspended for the quarter-final against Uruguay after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament in the last-16 match against Argentina. Corentin Tolisso looks his most likely replacement. Reserve wing-backs Djibril Sidibe and Benjamin Mendy are both expected to be fit after minor issues, but neither is expected to start against Uruguay anyway.
Antoine Griezmann (forward) - Scored penalties in France's first and most recent matches, even though he has not yet lived up to his Euro 2016 Golden Boot-winning form.
Kylian Mbappe (forward) - The teenage prodigy made history with his two goals in the second round against Argentina - the first teenager since Pele to score twice in one World Cup match.
Paul Pogba (midfielder) - Manchester United's £89m man proved his quality with an assured performance in the deep-lying central midfield role against Argentina.
France 4-3 Argentina
France's victory against Argentina in the last 16 was every bit as thrilling as had been expected, with seven goals scored in the end. Antoine Griezmann gave France an early lead from the penalty spot before hitting the bar with a free-kick. Paul Pogba also missed a good free-kick chance before Argentina hit back. PSG winger Angel di Maria curled in a brilliant first before Gabriel Mercado deflected Lionel Messi's shot into the net to put Argentina in front.
Benjamin Pavard equalised, however, with a superb half-volley, before Kylian Mbappe's double put France Football team on the brink of victory. Sergio Aguero's late goal, heading in Messi's inch-perfect cross, made for a frantic last couple of minutes but France held on to win 4-3 and book their quarter-final place.
France have won six and drawn two of their last eight matches since a friendly defeat to Colombia in March. In Russia, they kicked off their campaign with a 2-1 win against Australia thanks to Antoine Griezmann's penalty and Paul Pogba's deflected strike, before Kylian Mbappe scored the only goal against Peru. A stalemate with Denmark followed, but they were back in the goals in the thrilling 4-3 second-round win against Argentina last time out.
Two former World Cup champions meet in the first quarter-final of the 2018 tournament in Russia. Uruguay topped Group A and beat Portugal in the last 16 to reach this stage, while France beat Argentina in a thrilling second-round match after topping Group C. They now meet in Nizhny Novgorod on Friday July 6, with the World Cup 2018 quarter-final kicking off at 5pm local time.
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