Saturday’s 2018 FIFA World Cup action features two games: France vs. Argentina and Uruguay vs. Portugal. Check below for game reports, highlights and other key facts from World Cup 2018 Day 17.
4 p.m. ET: Uruguay 2, Portugal 1 (Final):
Two of soccer’s biggest stars saw their 2018 FIFA World Cup run end Saturday.
Not long after Lionel Messi and Argentina fell to France in the teams’ Round of 16 game, Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal countrymen suffered a similar fate at the hands of Uruguay. Ronaldo was held goalless in the match, as Las Celeste eliminated the reigning European champions with a 2-1 victory in Russia.
It didn’t take very long for Uruguay to find the back of the net. With the help of a great feed from Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani posted the game’s opening tally with a strong header.
The two sides went scoreless for the remainder of the first half, but Portugal didn’t waste much time evening the score in the second, courtesy of Pepe in the 55th minute.
Portugal’s momentum was short-lived, however, as Cavani notched his second goal of the game just seven minutes after Pepe knotted the score.
From there, Uruguay went into full defense mode, fending off Portugal and booking its ticket to the quarterfinals in the process.
Man of the Match:Â Cavani, of course. Need we explain?
Up Next: Uruguay and France will meet in a quarterfinal match Friday at 10 a.m. ET.
Noon ET: France 4, Argentina 3 (Final):
France continued its 2018 FIFA World Cup dreams Saturday, while Lionel Messi and Argentina’s came to a screeching halt.
Argentina held a 2-1 lead early in the second half in Russia, but Les Bleus exploded for three quick goals to take a commanding 4-2 advantage. Argentina scored in the closing minutes and had a chance to tie on its final possession, but France held on to advance to the quarterfinals.
Here are the game’s goals, in order:
And here’s how close Argentina came to tying the match:
Unreal.
Man of the Match:
Kylian Mbappe, who netted two goals and was all over the field for the French.
Next Up:
France will return to the pitch Friday at 10 a.m. ET when it meets Uruguay in the quarterfinals.
