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#3 Hit: Raphael Varane
France came to this tournament having lost one of their key defenders – Laurent Koscielny to injury. In his place, two young defenders have made this position their own. Samuel Umtiti and Raphael Varane have had outstanding seasons with their clubs, with both of them picking up silverware with their respective clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid.
And it is their defensive understanding that has caught the attention of the onlookers in this World Cup. Varane who rose to prominence early on his career had a terrific game at both ends of the pitch as he kept the usually dangerous Suarez, quiet while curtailing the influence of Stuani.
Varane, having made a late run into the box was on hand to flick the ball over the Uruguay defence as the ball made its way past the outstretched arms of Muslera as it skimmed of the post to end in the back of the net. This was Varane’s third goal for France, with the previous two also having been headers as well.
