Styles make fights and, whether it’s luck, kismet or the mastermind working for FIFA who is rigging the whole tournament so the team you hate the most wins, every round of this tournament has had at least one match in which two polar opposites come together to duke it out. In the case of France vs. Uruguay, it’s the ultimate footballing case of boxer vs. wrestler up until the team sheets were announced, when it was revealed that the wrestler had lost a thumb as Uruguay’s Edinson Cavani was deemed too injured to play.

The effects of this revealed themselves remarkably quickly. Uruguay still lined up with two up front in Nizhy Novgorod, but Cristhian Stuani is not Cavani and not even five minutes in, that was proved when Diego Laxalt provided him with a gift of a cross. He completely missed, sending the ball back across the goal to the feet of Nahitan Nandez, who did his best but had it blocked easily.

France started to counter and thesis where Uruguay’s superior chemistry came into play. Les Bleus have exactly two speeds, stop and go, and the midfield diamond of Lucas Torreira, Nandez, Matias Vecino and Rodrigo Betnancur did everything they could to prevent them from finding the space needed to impose their will. France’s front three of Corentin Tolisso, Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe found themselves overwhelmed and forced to pass rather than run and cross throughout most of the opening half. Early on, Olivier Giroud slipped through and sailed one up in the air, finding an unmarked Mbappe in front of goal; with all the time in the world, he tried to float a header into the goal and instead sent it over the top.

Neither France nor Urugay are known for their sportsmanship and the increased physicality that comes from constantly shutting a team down also leads to plenty of fouls. Giroud being hobbled by Jose Giminez 90 seconds in felt like an omen and the ball barely made it a full length of the pitch without someone dropping to the floor with an injury. By the half hour, they evolved from small trips and stamps to something more severe. In trying to do nothing more than beat him to the ball, France’s Lucas Hernandez almost ripped Nandez’ shirt clean off his back and, a little later, Bentancur followed through on Tolisso long after the ball had passed, earning himself a yellow card.

It was here that the boxer took the advantage. Up against a cohesive unit like Uruguay, France had to rely on its superior individual talent. Antoine Griezmann must have seen something he liked when he took his first free kick because he complied the same stutter-step run up the second time; it was enough to mess with Uruguay’s rhythm and provide Raphaël Varane with the split second needed to knock it in beyond goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.

The wrestler tried to respond and just before half time, a Uruguayan corner finds Martin Caceres, whose header would have screamed into the bottom corner were it not for keeper Hugo Lloris’ titanium wrists. He palmed the ball right off the line into the path of Stuani who, again, proved he is not Cavani.

In the world of American football, they say the run game establishes the passing game and France’s goal from a set piece was enough to establish their running game. Now scared to concede free kicks and corners, in the second half, Uruguay gave France the space needed to allow Mbappe, Paul Pogba and Ngolo Kante to accelerate, flipping the game on its head. Now it was France playing as a team, and showing they weren’t much good at it as several easy passes were missed and Griezmann seemed to forget Mbappe existed at one point, leaving him stranded behind enemy lines when he was expected in a through ball.

When it came to Uruguay’s chance to show off their one-on-one prowess, the same old story continued to be told and Stuani lost the ball twice in the space of two minutes around the 50-minute mark, visibly stretching the limits of Suarez’ patience. Perhaps that tangible exasperation was enough for Oscar Tabarez as he soon got him and Bentancur, who was practically asking for a red card, off and replaced them with the fresh legs of Maxi Gomez and Christian Rodriguez.

It didn’t matter as Uruguay’s individual mediocrity turned to individual failure. One minute past the hour Griezmann took a probing shot from the edge of the Uruguayan box. As if Loris Karius vs. Real Madrid and David de Gea vs. Portugal hadn’t happened and been incredibly famous blunders, Muslera parried instead of trying to catch the shot. The Telstar, which France’s Lloris among others had already complained about being difficult to predict, swerved at the last moment and caught the side of the keeper’s hand, sending it pirouetting up, over his head and over the line, making it 2-0 for France. The wrestler was flattened by a simple jab down the middle.

Tensions, already high, boil over. A cheeky dig from Rodriguez on Mbappe turned into a mass incident and Didier “Steptoe” Deschamps had to step in to prevent Pogba from being carded, even though he should have been – where was the VAR? – leaving only Rodriguez and a belligerent Mbappe to get yellows out of almost the entire outfield. These scenes have become more and more common and exaggerated as the tournament has progressed, suggesting the final will include a 10-minute recreation of the NBA’s Malice at the Palace.

With 20 minutes to go, it was over. Uruguay didn’t have the firepower and France, two-up without much effort, didn’t try and test them. As regular time ran out, the camera found Giminez already in floods of tears capping off an embarrassing night with an embarrassing sight that will no doubt be used against him and the team in years to come. 

France go through to face the winner of Belgium in the semifinal. Uruguay go home wondering what might have been. Both sides know this wasn't the classic it could have been.