Uruguay suffer huge injury blow ahead of quarter-final with France

Uruguay have been dealt a massive blow ahead of Friday's quarter-final with France at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in Nizhny Novgorod.

Striker Edinson Cavani has been Uruguay's top goal scorer at the tournament with three goals in four matches but will miss Friday's match with a calf injury. The PSG forward will be replaced in the starting lineup by Girona forward Cristhian Stuani with Cavani set to start from the bench. https://twitter.com/equipedefrance/status/1015216674369363968 https://twitter.com/Uruguay/status/1015214576634335232 Uruguay manager Oscar Tabarez has said that his side are enthused by their underdog tag heading into the quarter-final and that the story of the match will ultimately be told on the pitch in Nizhny Novgorod.

"We know what Uruguay's reality is. Like the song says, 'Never the favorites, always the underdogs,' and that's something that fills us with pride," Tabarez said. "The story of this game [against France] might come down to some past presumption, but it will be written by the players on the pitch. We have great hopes of winning this game, and afterward, if that happens, we'll rest, then prepare for the next one."