MOSCOW, (DNA) – France beat Uruguay to reach World Cup semis, on Friday.

Raphael Varane’s glancing header and a goalkeeping blunder that gifted Antoine Griezmann a soft goal gave France a 2-0 victory over Uruguay in the first World Cup quarter-final on Friday and a set up a last-four tie with Brazil or Belgium.

Uruguay went into the game without key striker Edinson Cavani, who was ruled out with a calf injury with Cristhian Stuani drafted into the starting line-up and the impact on their attack was noticeable.

France forward Kylian Mbappe, who had ripped apart Argentina in the previous round with his directness and pace, wasted a good opportunity to open the scoring in the 15th minute when Olivier Giroud headed across the box to him but the 19-year-old’s looping header was off-target.

A relatively quiet game sprung to life in the 40th minute when Varane sprinted clear of his marker to meet a well-placed Griezmann free kick with a perfectly angled header.