FRANCE win 2-0: Goals by Varane and Griezmann.

09:35 pm: Wrapping up...

That will be all from us for this game. Don’t forget, arguably, the match of the tournament coming up. Brazil take on Belgium. Our live blog will be up soon. Till then, hope you enjoyed the coverage of this match.

09:30 pm: How about this for a stat? Says it all really.

FULL-TIME STATS: A clinical performance by France and they are living up to the pre-tournament hype. Not a spectacular performance, but they did the job in a professional manner. And one moment in the first half could very well be the one that France reflect on, while analysing their win. Hugo Lloris pulled off a remarkable save to deny Caceres and Uruguay an equaliser.

(Graphic: @FIFAWorldCup)

FULL-TIME: France, deservedly, are the first semifinalists of Russia 2018.

FULL-TIME, FRANCE BEAT URUGUAY 2-0: A sixth semifinal beckons for Les Bleus! Scenes of joy for the French, Uruguay knocked out by a goal each from Varane and Griezmann.

Into the final minute: 60 secs left and Uruguayan players are clearly out of this. Heart goes out to them as a neutral, they have given it their all but tonight has not been their night. A forgettable second half.

90’ + 2’: Gimenez, the man, who sent an entire nation into ruptures with his winning goal against Egypt, is already in tears seemingly. Fekir comes on for YET ANOTHER sub appearance, replacing Griezmann.

5 mins added on: Uruguay continue to press forward, but nothing to trouble France.

90th min: A free–kick from close to the center-circle for Uruguay and the fans break into a loud cheer – don’t think they are expecting a turnaround here, this feels like a celebration knowing that their time in Russia is at an end.

88th min: Mbappe, who is on a yellow card for that unnecessary phase of play a while back, has been taken off by Deschamps. Dembele comes on. Not a bad replacement eh?

86th min: France are playing keep-ball now to chants of “Ole Ole” from their fans. This is all but done now despite Suarez harrying around defenders in the French half.

80th min: We are into the final minutes, Uruguay need two goals but in all honesty, they have hardly troubled Lloris this half.

Meanwhile, Mbappe’s antics have not gone down well with some.

78th min: Uruguay are now huffing and puffing, but no breakthrough in sight. A mishit cross the right flank almost makes its way to Suarez but the ball is cleared away by Varane.

France make a change with Nzonzi coming on in place of Tolisso.

74th min: Nandez is off. Urretaviscaya is on. Last permissible change for Uruguay unless this game goes to extra time.

73rd min: A shot from distance by Tolisso after good spell of Uruguayan pressure.

Meanwhile, this is how a little kid reacted to France going 2-0 ahead. Tells you all need to know about the mood.

68th min: TEMPERS FLARING! OH DEAR, this is getting a bit out-of-hand. Mbappe with a little bit of showboating in Uruguay’s half. He goes down in a head after a touch (literally by the look of things) by Rodriguez, and that doesn’t please Uruguay at all. Either that or that little piece of showboating. The players get involved, then Pogba has a little pat-on-the-head with Nandez, and it’s... well, it’s sorted now with Mbappe and Rodriguez both getting a YELLOW CARD.

65th min: Uruguay have a mountain to climb now and this game looks like it’s done, especially with France likely to enjoy more space going forward.

Interestingly, Griezmann didn’t celebrate after the goal. Remember, he said he feels ‘Uruguayan’ given his friendship with Godin, who’s the godfather to his daughter.

61st min: GOALLLLLL FRANCE! MUSLERA WITH A HOWLER! OH, DEAR!

Remember how we said Muslera had an almost-Caballero moment earlier? He does now! Full on. Griezmann shoots from distance, the ball moves in the air but this is not difficult by any means, the goalkeeper tries to push it away, ends up palming into the goal instead. Griezmann’s goal but Muslera gift-wrapped this to him.

DOUBLE CHANGE FOR URUGUAY: Stuani, Bantancur replaced by Maxi Gomez, Cristian Rodriguez

58th min: Good pressure from Uruguay early on here. Umititi was caught in possession inside the box a little while earlier and now the South Americans are pushing forward once again down the right.

52nd min: Corner france after some footwork by Mbappe down the left byline. The delivery is cleared away and Pavard – he, of that stunning goal against Argentina – has a crack from distance but it’s wide.

50th min: Free-kick France from the right flank, and it’s Mbappe to take it this time for a change. The delivery is whipped in at great pace but Muslera comes out and punches the ball away. Gets Pogba to go down too for good measure.

48th min: Oh, a Caballero moment (almost) for Muslera! He takes a back pass but dabbles on it for too long with Griezmann charging at him, he actually wins the ball back but the pace of his forward press took the ball away to a goalkick. Embarrassment averted.

47th min: A word on Kante, who was once again immense for France in the first half... there was one interception close the center circle that stood out, when he flying in pinch the ball away.

46th min: We are underway in Nizhny Novgorod... Suarez and Griezmann with a dribble each to start things off.

HALF-TIME: That Lloris save is almost as important as the Varane goal or more, says Sunil Chhetri in the studio and it’s tough to disagree. Uruguay would have loved to go into half time on level terms. The 1-0 lead is a massive boost for France and Les Bleus can come out now and play on the counter, where they can be deadly.

(Graphic: @FIFAWorldCup)

HALF-TIME: Here’s that save by Lloris. Full stretch! That was heading in to the bottom corner. Superb stuff!

HALF-TIME, URUGUAY 1-0 FRANCE: That half sparked into life in the last five minutes! A gripping end to a fascinating opening half. Varane with the goal-scoring header, Lloris with a goal-saving... err... save and it’s 1-0 to France.

45’ + 1: Uruguay with all the pressure to close this half out. Another set-piece from the right, this time Godin goes down in the box after a tug by Giroud, not serious enough for a penalty.

43rd min: WHAT A SAVE LLORIS!!! STUNNING, STUNNING EFFORT BY THE FRANCE CAPTAIN!

It’s a freekick for Uruguay from near the midfield, the delivery is fantastic and the header from Caceres even better but it is topped by a fantastic save by Lloris who flings himself to his right, full stretch, pushes the ball on to the post and away. Godin couldn’t divert the rebound in.

41st min: Uruguay have a corner from kickoff after the goal – which was France’s first shot on target by the way – and there’s a long shot to deal with for Lloris and he does well. Easy enough.

What a header that was by Varane. Lovely setpiece routine.

40th min: GOALLLLLLLL FRANCE! VARANE SCORES! The freekick from Griezmann is a delicious one from the right flank, Varane makes a late diagonal run – unmarked! - and glances the ball home. Muslera has no chance!

39th min: Remember how we told you only Uruguayan player has been booked in this tournament so far? That happens to be Bentancur who, just now, picks up a second yellow card and will miss the semifinal should Uruguay make it. A rash tackle from behind on Tolisso.

WORLD CUP AT WIMBLEDON: This is interesting!

35th min: Mbappe shows real pace to latch on to Pogba’s through ball down the right, gets away from Laxalt and cuts the ball back but there’s not a single French forward in the box.

33rd min: First yellow card of the night and it’s for a blatant shirt-pull by France’s Hernandez on Nandez.

After 31 mins, it’s 0-0: Interesting observation here. Is the Umtiti-Varane pairing better than Pique-Ramos for Spain? We’d venture to guess yes.

30th min: Pavard has been a source of constant threat for the Uruguayan defence in the first 30 mins of this match. The right-back puts in another delicious low cross that Mbappe gets a touch on and it rolls across the goal.

26th min: First real taste of the Mbappe-Laxalt duel tonight, as the Frenchman tries to dribble past the Uruguayan defender down the right side of the D-box, does well to make some space but Laxalt recovers quickly and concedes a corner. Defended with ease. Some afters involving Laxalt and Mbappe when that corner was conceded.

24th min: Uruguay have received only ONE yellow card in the whole tournament so far, informs the commentator. That is quite a record! Suarez escapes one for barging to Pavard at the right touchline.

21st min: France are beginning to play some intricate give-and-go football outside the Uruguayan penalty area. Giroud-Mbappe-Griezmann involved heavily. Pavard wins a corner now, France’s first. Cleared away.

19th min: Paul Pogba, who has been quite so far, with a shot from distance and it goes high and wide. Wild effort.

15th min: OH WHAT A CHANCE FOR MBAPPE! Dear oh dear, what were the Uruguayan defenders doing. Giroud meets a cross from Pavard under pressure and his looping header back across finds Mbappe in acres of space! But he can’t guide the ball on target – he was waiting for an eternity for the ball to drop for him and rushed in the end.

14th min: Lloris called into action. Torreira with a corner to the far post, headed down by Godin, with Stuani lurking close to the goal-line but the France captain goes down bravely and clears the danger.

13th min: Alright, this is more along expected lines now. Niggling fouls across the midfield by both sides, and the referee getting animated with sets of players. Suarez goes down theatrically after a foul by Umititi at the center circle.

11th min: Free kick from the left flank for France after Hernandez is fouled, Griezmann’s delivery is headed wide by Varane.

9th minute: Still early days but it;s not quite the cagey battle many expected so far. Both teams looking to press forward.

7th minute: First show of Mbappe’s pace (electric as always and he gets France going on the first real attack of note) and a cross from the right is almost met by the outstretched leg of Giroud.

5th minute: Bright start this by Uruguay. Stuani has a crack at goal from a tight angle from the right side. Off target though.

4th minute: Panic for the French defence! Varane with a poor clearance in midfield, completely miskicking the ball. Suarez latches on to it and releases Laxalt down the left whose cross creates confusion in among the Frence defenders. They eventually clear.

2nd minute: An early break in play as Giroud is on the ground in pain (a familiar sight for Arsenal fans)... just an innocuous coming together. He is alright to carry on.

1st minute: As expected early on, France dominating possession with Uruguay sitting deep in two banks of four.

07:30 pm: The countdown is done... and we are underway! May the best team win.

07:27 pm: A combined photograph involving both teams... as part of the ‘Say No to Racism’ initiative by Fifa.

07:23 pm: Seven nation army as the teams enter the pitch... followed by the national anthems. Starting with Uruguay.

07:22 pm: We have live pictures from Nizhny Novgorod... game faces everywhere.

07:20 pm: Uruguay have quite a task in hand without Cavani starting. The question is are they going to try and keep a cleansheet first of all and hope to nick a goal on the counter? Or will they be more adventurous? Given what France did an “adventurous” Argentina side, we doubt that.

07:15 pm: Here’s an interesting little nugget of information from our in-house football expert, Arka Bhattacharya.

 Interestingly, one of the four stars on Uruguay’s crest is from their Olympic win of 1924. France were swept aside 5-1 in the quarters, on course to the gold. Since the Olympics were unofficially considered as the world’s premier tournament prior to the Olympics, you could say this is a repeat of that encounter 94 years later!    

07:10 pm:

  • This is also an important game for Didier Deschamps, as it is his tenth World Cup game in charge of France, taking him level with Raymond Domenech (2006-2010) and Michel Hidalgo (1978-1982) at the top of the rankings. Deschamps is the only one of the trio to have taken Les Bleus into the second stage twice.

07:06 pm: Here’s how Uruguay is expected to lineup... Stuani has big boots to fill.

(Graphic: @FIFAWorldCup)

07:00 pm: DID YOU KNOW...

  • A total of eight members of the French and Uruguayan squads were involved in the pair’s showdown in the 2013 final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which Les Bleus won 4-1 on penalties after a goalless draw. The South Americans fielded Jose Gimenez, Diego Laxalt, Guillermo Varela, Giorgian De Arrascaeta (who missed a penalty) and Gaston Silva who captained the side, while Ruben Bentancur was on the bench. The French line-up included Alphonse Areola, who saved two penalties, as well as Florian Thauvin and Paul Pogba, who was captain and converted the first spot-kick. Samuel Umtiti was suspended.

(All stats courtesy: Fifa.com)

6:55 pm: It was on this day in 2010 that Uruguay got very close to making their first final since 1950. Los Charruas lost 2-3 to Netherlands in a pulsating semi-final and then lose the third place play-off by the same margin to Germany.

06:48 pm:

  • France have accumulated five wins and four draws since their last defeat by South American opponents in the World Cup, 2-1 at the hands of Argentina in 1978. Uruguay are the third South American side to face France in this edition, after Peru and Argentina.

06:44 pm:

  • Uruguay have won their last four World Cup duels against European opponents. The most recent victory by a UEFA team over Los Charruas was achieved by Germany, who prevailed 3-2 in 2010. Since that reverse, the Uruguayans overcame England and Italy in 2014, followed by Russia and Portugal in 2018.

06:38 pm: A reminder of the lineups...

Uruguay: Muslera, Gimenez, Godin, Caceres, Bentancur, Nandez, Torreira, Vecino, Laxalt, Suarez, Cavani

France: Lloris, Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Hernandez, Pogba, Tolisso, Kante, Griezmann, Giroud, Mbappe

06:30 pm:

  • France and Uruguay have squared up three times in the World Cup, all in the first round. A 2-1 Celeste win in 1966 was followed by two 0-0 draws in 2002 and 2010. We can’t get away with a 0-0 tonight. Are we in for another penalty shootout?

06:25 pm: The teams are in! And as widely reported, Edinson Cavani doesn’t start. (We’ll have to wait and see if he’s available on the bench or not...) For France, Tolisso comes into the midfield with Matuidi suspended.

06:22 pm: The last time France left the field in Russia, we saw this image that signified, perhaps, the end of an era and the beginning of another. Can Mbappe take France to the last four tonight?

READ: In a pacy blur of potential, Mbappe goes past Messi and Argentina.

06:15 pm:

  • The two teams have played each other eight times and Uruguay have the superior head-to-head record, with three wins to France’s one, plus four draws. Their first showdown dates back to the Olympic Football Tournament in 1924, when Uruguay ran out 5-1 winners in the quarter-finals before going on to win the gold medal. The last encounter was a friendly held five years ago, which the South Americans won 1-0 courtesy of a goal by Luis Suarez.

06:08 pm: While Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez took their time to get going, they are now hitting top-gear as was personified by the first goal against Portugal, when the duo combined to deadly effect. They did not concede a single goal in group stages. Pepe’s goal against them in the round of 16 was, in fact, the first they have conceded in 2018. Cavani’s fitness would be a concern for the South Americans, but their defensive record should hold them in good stead in the last eight.

Facing Uruguay will be France, the youngest squad remaining in the tournament. Didier Deschamps’ men came in for criticism for their below-par showing in the group stages, especially after a dour 0-0 against Denmark. But during the 4-3 win against Argentina, France showed the danger they possess going forward. Kylian Mbappe, who emulated Pele by scoring twice in a World Cup knockout fixture, is the man to watch out for. As the cliche goes, France seem to be peaking at the right time.

06:01 pm: If the current quarter-final bracket were a see-saw, and you put the World Cup pedigree of the four teams on each half on either side, the one on the left will never leave the ground by the sheer weight of their record at the greatest show on earth.

Uruguay, two-time winners. France, winners in 1998. Brazil, five-time champions. There’s a collective strength of 11 World Cup final appearances between those three sides.

Head over to the other half and you have only one title and two final appearances to show for, both coming more than 50 years back. Sweden, beaten finalists against the magic of Pele in 1958, and England, winners in 1966.

By the sheer volume of madness that this tournament has witnessed, the quarter-finals lineup has a lop-sided feel to it, but all eight teams have earned their places to vie for a spot in the final four.

05:55 pm: Hello all and it’s time to welcome the World Cup back into our lives after a two-day break. It’s the first of the quarter-final clashes and what a match-up we have on our hands! It’s Uruguay vs France to kick things off in the last eight.

France never got out of first gear in easing through the group stage, but turned on the style as Mbappe dazzled in a classic 4-3 victory over Argentina to set up the clash with Uruguay.

“We have been preparing for months, for weeks to play matches like that,” said France coach Didier Deschamps.

Uruguay’s success has been built on a solid defence led by Atletico Madrid pair Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin, with the old-fashioned strike partnership of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani doing the damage at the other end with five goals between them.

No South American side have won on European soil since a Pele-inspired Brazil 60 years ago, but in a World Cup of shocks and surprises, nothing can be taken for granted.