In 2014, Raphael Varane lost a set-piece duel with Mats Hummels, which led to the goal that knocked France out of the World Cup and gave Germany a crucial quarter-final victory prior to their 7-1 win over Brazil.

Fast-forward four years and Varane redeemed himself with a set-piece victory of his own, out-jumping Cristhian Stuani as he gave France a lead over Uruguay and their stubborn defence in the 2018 World Cup quarter-finals.

Football can be a cruel game but it can be a game for redemption. Not only did Varane and Samuel Umtiti keep Uruguay out, they made sure Luis Suarez didn’t have a single touch in the box, nor did he take a single shot at goal throughout the match.

For all the talent in that Uruguayan squad, it was a tame ending for Los Charruas.

Selection headaches

Two big selection headaches dominated the headlines going into the match. The first and the most obvious one was the absence of Edinson Cavani through a calf injury.

Oscar Tabarez had two options – replace Cavani with a striker, namely Stuani, or opt for a change in formation and get rid of the two-striker system. Tinkering with a set system that delivered four straight victories seemed like the illogical thing to do, and the veteran opted for Stuani.

The Girona man’s strength lay in his heading ability and it would complement Luis Suarez’s all-action style well. It was never going to be as effective as the Cavani-Suarez combination but it would have to make do in Uruguay’s biggest test thus far.

France had Blaise Matuidi missing through suspension and Corentin Tolisso was picked. Matuidi had been key to Didier Deschamps’s plan and had provided Lucas Hernandez with extra protection on the left.

Tolisso, the Bayern Munich man, was brought in with much the same intention, to provide solidity in midfield along with N’golo Kante and Paul Pogba. Tolisso wasn’t outstanding but did a good job of containing Martin Caceres, Mathias Vecino and Rodrigo Bentancur.

For all the attacking talent on display, it was a moment each from the two goalkeepers that would go on to define the match.

Barely five minutes after Varane’s header had handed France the lead, Uruguay had gone up the other end in search for a goal. Caceres got a touch on the ball which should have seen them equalise, but Lloris had other ideas.

The French skipper dived full length to his left, and palmed the right-back’s header away. It might not go into the record books as with Varane’s goal, but it was a crucial moment for the match. France had a 1-0 lead at half-time and they had Lloris to thank for it.

Fatal blow

Fernando Muslera, Uruguay’s long-serving number one, on the other hand had his moment of indecision and his team paid for it. With the game finely poised at 1-0, Antoine Griezmann had a shot from way outside the box.

It was headed straight for the Galatasaray keeper and what should have been a routine save turned into a nightmare for the custodian. Griezmann’s shot didn’t appear to swerve, yet Muslera slightly leaned the wrong way before attempting to fist it away.

The ball struck his glove, rose up in the air and looped in to the goal. It had all gone horribly wrong for Uruguay and their World Cup dreams. The Griezmann strike was a fatal blow, and they never recovered from it.

It wasn’t Muslera’s only moment of hesitancy; there were several others throughout the game. He had earlier misjudged a back-pass from Jose Gimenez, and dawdled on it till Griezmann closed him down.

The ball deflected behind for a goal-kick, but it could so easily have been different had Griezmann reacted faster. Lloris has been known for the occasional clanger, but this was a calm performance from the Tottenham custodian.

This was a day of crowning for the French defence, which had conceded five goals in four games thus far. Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard stuck to their roles effectively, and although none of them are first choices, they performed admirably. Pavard arguably had his best game in a France shirt.

Kante’s screening also frustrated the young Uruguayan midfield, which tried to break through but failed when faced with a staunch backline. Much was written about Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez forming a wall around the Uruguay goal, but a second set-piece goal conceded in as many games showed that even the mighty are vulnerable.

Instead, Varane and Umtiti, the Barcelona-Real Madrid pairing, came to the fore in stopping Uruguay from snatching a goal on the counter. They deserve as much praise as the man behind them.

This was a day when Deschamps got his plans right and most of his decisions went France’s way. Faced with physical opposition as with Portugal in the Euro 2016 final, France have crumbled in the past but not this time.

Keep this up and Deschamps might become only the third footballer, after Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer, to lift the World Cup trophy as captain and coach.

In order to do that, however, France must overcome the tournament’s form team, Belgium, which is not at all an appetising prospect considering Roberto Martinez’s men defeated Brazil in Friday’s other quarter-final.

Win this match and France will be firm favourites for the final, no matter which of England, Sweden, Croatia or Russia join them on 15 July at the Luzhniki.