- The latest news, build-up and previews around the quarter-finals
- World Cup power rankings: Brazil reign while Sweden edge England
- Who will win the quarter-finals? Eight fans have their say
- Email simon.burnton@theguardian.com | Tweet @Simon_Burnton
Here’s Thomas Hitzlsperger on Benjamin Pavard:
I will never forget Benjamin Pavard’s debut for Stuttgart. It came on 3 October 2016, a few months after he had joined from Lille and at a time when everyone at the club was still getting used to life in the second division having been relegated from the Bundesliga the previous season.
We were playing SpVgg Greuther Fürth at home and it is no exaggeration to say Benjamin had a dream start to life in Germany. We won 4-0 and, as well as scoring our third goal, he set up the first, for Carlos Mané, with an incredible pass. Benjamin was stood at centre-back and played a perfectly-weighted ball right though midfield and practically on to Carlos’s toe. It was the type of pass you’d expected to see from an experienced playmaker, not a young defender, and as I watched from the stands I thought there was no way Benjamin could be that good. I was wrong.
Related: I knew Benjamin Pavard was good but he has reached new heights in Russia | Thomas Hitzlsperger
Uruguay and France play in the first quarter-final tomorrow. The teams have met five times in the last 30 years, with the following results:
June 2002: France 0-0 Uruguay
November 2008: France 0-0 Uruguay
June 2010: France 0-0 Uruguay
August 2012: France 0-0 Uruguay
June 2013: Uruguay 1-0 France
Written by Simon Burnton (now), Mike Hytner and Naaman Zhou (earlier)
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2018/jul/05/world-cup-2018-building-up-to-uruguay-v-france-and-brazil-v-belgium-live under the title “World Cup 2018: latest news as the quarter-finals loom large – live!”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
