[Archive 2018-07-03] FIFA World Cup 2018 Last 16: France, Uruguay send Argentina, Portugal home

Historical archive — originally published 2018-07-03. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

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

In the second half, Gabriel Mercado 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 Benjamin Pavard 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.

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

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 Bernardo Silva'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 Diego Godín'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 Raphaël Guerreiro's assist. In the 62nd minute, Cavani scored a goal from Rodrigo Bentancur'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.

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