Lionel Messi's Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal eliminated from World Cup; France and Uruguay set up enticing quarterfinal clash
France and Uruguay beat Argentina and Portugal by scorelines of 4-3 and 2-1 respectively to set up a quarterfinal clash between the two victors which will be played out on 6 July.
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The round of 16 began with an encounter between two teams that were touted as favourites to win the tournament, with France taking on Argentina. AFP
France opened the scoring through an Antoine Griezmann, but trailed shortly after halftime with two Argentina goals coming either side of the break. France responded well, scoring three more goals within a span of 11 minutes. Argentina pulled one back through Sergio Aguero in added time but were unable to find the equaliser. AFP
Lionel Messi was unable to reproduce his club form in Argentinian colours, scoring just one goal over four matches. AFP
Edinson Cavani scored twice for Uruguay, with his first coming in the 7th minute and his second in the 62nd minute, after Portugal had equalised through Pepe. AFP
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo failed to score in the match, after scoring four goals during the group stage. AFP
Uruguay will face France in the quarterfinals to be played in the Nizhny Novgorod stadium on 6 July. AFP