FIFA World Cup 2018 Last 16: France, Uruguay send Argentina, Portugal home

July 3, 2018 On Saturday, France defeated Argentina 4–3 and Uruguay defeated Portugal 2–1 in the FIFA football World Cup in the Last 16 knockout phase. France is scheduled to play against Uruguay for the quarter-finals.

France v Argentina
France faced Argentina in the first match of the Last 16 at the. Argentina had greater ball possession. In the 11th minute, France was awarded a penalty kick after received a yellow card, bringing down  in the penalty area. Antoine Griezmann scored from the penalty giving the French side an early lead. In the 41st minute, equalised for Argentina from outside the box, assisted by. The first half ended 1–1.

In the second half, scored the second goal for Argentina from Lionel Messi's assist, putting the South Americans in the lead in the 48th minute. France equalised within ten minutes, when scored a goal from outside the penalty area. In the 64th minute, Mbappé scored the third goal for France and four minutes later Mbappé netted the fourth goal, from Olivier Giroud's assist. French midfielder Paul Pogba committed a foul in the injury time and Argentina won a free kick in the defensive half. Sergio Agüero scored the third goal for Argentina from Messi's assist. The match ended with France emerging the winners.

Nineteen-year-old Mbappé became the first teenager to score two goals in the FIFA World Cup tournament since Brazilian when he achieved the feat in 1958. He was named Budweiser Man of the Match. After the match, French coach said, "There is an excellent mentality in this group and we did everything to go further. Since I am responsible for everything, particularly when it doesn't go well, I'm very proud."

After the match, Argentine defender announced retirement from international football. Mascherano has played 147 games for the country, which is a national record.

Uruguay v Portugal
Uruguay faced Portugal in the second match of the Last 16 at Sochi. Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo had an attempt for a goal in the 6th minute from 's assist, but it was saved. A minute later, Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani scored a header from Luis Suárez's assist, giving the South Americans an early lead. Just before the half-time whistle, Cavani had an opportunity to double the lead from 's assist but missed it. The first half ended with Uruguay leading 1–0.

Ten minutes into the second half, Pepe equalised for Portugal, scoring a header from 's assist. In the 62nd minute, Cavani scored a goal from 's assist, restoring Uruguay's one-goal advantage. Cavani was later substituted off in the 74th minute due to injury. Ricardo Quaresma's attempt for an equaliser in the injury time was saved and Uruguay won the match 2–1.

After the match, Portugal's coach said, "In football, there are no moral victories and I would have preferred to play worse and win the match. But I do feel that the second half was very good from us in terms of desire and our determination to score." Cavani was named Budweiser Man of the Match.

France is to play Uruguay in the quarter-final.