July 06, 2018•Update: July 06, 2018
By Satuk Bugra Kutlugun
ANKARA
Football fans will have themselves a feast Friday as the 2018 FIFA World Cup’s quarterfinal matches begin with two heavyweight clashes.
Uruguay will take on France in the first match of the day at 5 p.m. local time (GMT1400) at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium.
Only conceding one goal so far in the tournament, Uruguay will look to gain strength from their tough defense one more time. But this time, they will face an opponent which has started firing on all cylinders recently.
Thanks to a brace by their striker Edinson Cavani, Uruguay eliminated Portugal to advance to the last eight, sending Cristiano Ronaldo home.
France, on the other hand, eliminated Lionel Messi and the Argentina team with a 4-3 score in the second round, behind an illustrious performance by young star Kylian Mbappe.
The second match of the day will be at Kazan Arena at 9 p.m. local time (GMT1800) when two tournament favorites, Brazil and Belgium, will square off.
Brazil eliminated Mexico 2-0, while Belgium needed a 0-2 deficit comeback to eliminate Japan 3-2.
Speaking to FIFA TV, Brazil's Willian said "Brazil's football will always be one where players smile while they play".
"I think football evolves and gets harder every year. Look at this World Cup," he said, recalling that some big teams like Germany, Spain, Portugal and Argentina are already out.
