30 June 2018
What a day of football it was in Russia as two enthralling matches kicked off the FIFA World Cup Round of 16. Four bianconeri would suit up today with two of them finding the pitch as 180 minutes of play saw 10 goals scored and countless more dramatic moments.
MATUIDI'S FRANCE ADVANCES
In one of the best matches we've seen in Russia, Matuidi's France defeated Argentina 4-3 to move on to the quarter-finals.
Matuidi was in the starting XI for Les Bleus who were ahead on 13 minutes when Kylian Mbappe was fouled in the area leading to an Antoine Griezmann penalty kick.
Argentina would fight back and Angel Di Maria stunningly leveled the match just before half-time while Gabriel Mercato would deflect in a shot from Lionel Messi just after half-time to put Argentina in front 2-1.
From there, France turned on the gas scoring three times in 11 minutes with Mbappe scoring two of those.
Matuidi played 75 minutes for France though a yellow card means he will be suspended for the quarter-final while Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain did not feature for Argentina.
BENTANCUR'S URUGUAY ROLLS ON
The late match of the day in Sochi saw Rodrigo Bentancur start his fourth World Cup match for Uruguay who were up 1-0 on Portugal after just seven minutes as Edinson Cavani brilliantly headed in Luis Suarez's cross.
A stunning second-half strike from Cavani that was assisted by Bentancur was enough for Uruguay who will face France in the quarter-final. The 21-year-old Juve midfielder played 63 minutes in the win.
Sunday in Russia, two more Bianconeri will be in action as Mario Mandzukic, Marko Pjaca and Croatia face Denmark at 20.00 CEST.
