France moved into the semi-finals of the World Cup after a deserved 2-0 win over Uruguay in Nizhny Novgorod, helped by an almighty howler from Fernando Muslera.
Uruguay, without the injured Edinson Cavani, started brightly but faded as the first-half wore on.
France would eventually open the scoring on 40 minutes, with Raphael Varane heading home from a perfectly struck Antoine Griezmann free-kick.
Uruguay almost hit back immediately, only for Hugo Lloris to produce a superb stop from Martín Cáceres, with Diego Godin blasting the rebound over.
After the break, Les Bleus were the better side and they would double their advantage just after the hour-marl, albeit in fortuitous circumstances.
Uruguay’s usually dependable ‘keeper Muslera was at fault for the goal, failing to deal with a speculative Griezmann effort which was hit straight at him.
That goal ended Uruguay’s slim hopes of getting back into the game, with defender José Giménez reduced to tears before the end.
ITV pundit Gary Neville was less than impressed with Giménez’s reaction. Indeed, the former England man sailed rather close to the wind with his comments on Uruguay throughout the game, referring to them as ‘hyenas’ at one point.
The game descended into temporary chaos when Kylian Mbappe went down far too easily after the most minimal of touches from sub Cristian Rodríguez, with the Uruguayan players unimpressed by the starlet’s theatrics.
The contest would end in victory for the French, who were well worth the win, despite not quite hitting the heights they reached against Argentina in the Last 16.
For Uruguay, the loss of Cavani proved pivotal, with Luis Suarez struggling without his partner-in-crime.
As for Muslera, his howler will no doubt haunt him for some time to come.