A game that was tough for long stretches only got a bit of color after a standard situation. Antoine Griezmann's free kick was headed in by center back Raphael Varane in the 40th minute in textbook fashion to make it 1-0 for France. That was like a go-ahead goal for the Colombians, who went on the offensive after that and almost equalized three minutes later. Martin Cacere's header into the bottom left corner was prevented by the French keeper thanks to a world champion defense.
In the second half, the game flattened out again. Colombia didn't come up with the attacking run it had hoped for. There was little that was compelling and few creative ideas. The South Americans rarely got the ball into the French penalty area and there was no real danger of scoring.
In turn, the French played more directly and quickly. After an attack in the 61st minute, Griezmann took full aim from about 23 meters. The ball flew forcefully, swinging, straight at the goalkeeper. The Colombian keeper tried to block the ball, but the defense failed and the ball flew over his hands into the goal. What a blooper! What a shock for Colombia!
Even after the somewhat unfortunate second goal, the Colombians continued to play without ideas and could not do much against the French. Luis Suarez was completely out of it, because without his injured strike partner Edinson Cavani, he didn't manage much.
Thus, the favorite France deservedly won with two to zero and now moves into the semifinals.
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