World Cup Report: Belgium upsets 5-time world champion Brazil

Jul 7 2018, 1:36 am

For the first timeĀ ever, the World Cup will feature a semi-final that does not include Germany, Argentina, or Brazil.

The latest powerhouse country to go home, Brazil has been eliminated in the quarter-final by Belgium.

Bye bye Brazil

In possibly the biggest win in Belgium’s history, they knocked off Brazil by a 2-1 score.

A Fernando Luiz Roza own goal in the 13th minute got things started for Belgium, who would extend the lead in the 31st minute.

Kevin De Bruyne scored Belgium’s second goal of the match with a thundering strike – putting Brazil into a deep hole.

Brazil nearly dug themselves out of it. Renato Augusto’s brilliant header gave his team hope, cutting the lead in half with 14 minutes to go before stoppage time.

Furious pressure in Belgium’s end of the field ensued. Neymar had Brazil’s last glorious chance to level the match with time ticking down, curling a shot that Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois turned aside.

Despite controlling 57% of possession and having a 26-8 edge in attempts at goal, Brazil’s tournament ends in the quarter-finals for the third time in the last four World Cups.

France moves on

France is moving on to the semi-finals for the first time since 2006, after a 2-0 win over Uruguay.

Playing without one of their star strikers in Edinson Cavani, who missed the match due to injury, Uruguay put up a good fight.

France’s Raphael Varane opened the scoring, heading home the first goal of the match off a free kick in the 40th minute.

Uruguay nearly answered back minutes later, but France kept a clean sheet thanks to this amazing diving save by keeper Hugo Lloris.

The deathblow for Uruguay came in the 61st minute, when an Antoine Griezmann free-kick appeared to fool keeper Fernando Muslera, who couldn’t handle the shot – gifting France their second goal.

France will play their European neighbours, Belgium, in the semi-final.

Saturday’s games

The final two spots in the semi-finals are on the line, with Sweden facing England and Croatia taking on host Russia.

  • Sweden vs England (7 am PT / 10 am ET)
  • Russia vs Croatia (11 am PT / 2 pm ET)
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