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LARSON: Muslera error front and centre as Cavani-less Uruguay look to uncertain future

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NIZHNY NOVGOROD — Then just 23 years old, Luis Suarez started alongside Uruguayan legend Diego Forlan when Los Charruas opened the 2010 World Cup.

A much-younger — and then very much cane-less — coach Oscar Tabarez played Edinson Cavani alongside the aforementioned duo at that same tournament en route to a semifinal appearance.

A 24-year-old Diego Godin was a fixture across Tabarez’s back line in front of ageless goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, whose egregious error here Friday night ended an era of Uruguayan football.

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Uruguay fell 2-0 on the banks of the Volga River to a French side it never worried, a side Tabarez described as being a “very big distance” in front of the South Americans.

If Tabarez thought his side appeared listless without Cavani, who missed out through injury, imagine a Uruguayan future without the likes of Suarez and Godin, two players who, along with their injured talisman, managed to hold things together following Forlan and Diego Lugano’s departure.

Tabarez could be the next to go, though the 71-year-old refused to answer post-game if he’ll resign following more than a decade in charge.

“What I know for sure is Uruguay will be a football nation that will keep developing its history,” Tabarez responded to a Bolivian reporter who asked about the state of football in his country.

What history suggests, though, is Uruguayan football is likely to go the way of the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Italy and other sides that regressed following stints of dominance.

They’ll look back — as they did in 2010 and 2014 — and wonder if they got the most out of a golden generation of players who have been together since the 2007 under-20 World Cup in Canada.

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Cavani sauntered out of dugout at full-time here Friday night after being forced to watch this quarterfinal due to the calf strain he suffered in a Man of the Match performance against Portugal.

He was first onto the pitch to console Suarez, his long-time strike partner, who put hands to knees at the conclusion of an unprecedented performance.

Suarez wasn’t just toothless without his better half, he was historically bad. The Barcelona striker didn’t find a single touch in the opposition’s box for the first time at a World Cup.

It was just the second time Suarez failed to produce a shot in 13 appearances at this tournament — a symptom of playing alongside Cristhian Stuani instead of Cavani.

Cavani had been a revelation at this tournament on the back of a record-setting season at Paris Saint-Germaine. Before that, he led CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying in scoring.

His hold-up play, distribution, dribbling ability, speed and scoring at this tournament undoubtedly saw him supplant England’s Harry Kane and Poland’s Robert Lewandowski as the best out-and-out No. 9 in the world.

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Les Bleus were expected to take care of business regardless of Cavani’s inclusion or absence. When Cavani didn’t appear on the team sheet Friday night, it became a foregone conclusion.

The only surprise might have been the way in which Uruguay conceded. Raphael Varane’s first-half header and Muslera’s gaffe were all France needed in a match it essentially strolled through.

“We deserved the result. We played against a beautiful Uruguayan side but we were better than they were,” French coach Didier Deschamps said. “We had far more mastery than they had — especially in the second half.

“We didn’t want to give them any opportunities (to score) — especially because a team like Uruguay isn’t used to being scored on. However, we have some margin to get even better.”

Tabarez didn’t make excuses post-game, admitting Uruguay was outclassed in this particular matchup. Yet he refused to draw any other conclusions that appear evident to everyone else.

“It’s not that we’re going to learn anything new,” he suggested. “We’ve lost other times.”

He was unwilling to concede his side looks set to regress within a confederation that’s full of parity.

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“We cannot take this match today as a point of reference that contradicts everything we’ve been doing,” Tabarez added.

“Uruguay is still a team within the most important teams in the world. If you think losing this game means we didn’t achieve anything, then I cant understand you.”

The question, of course, is whether this “achievement” is as good as it gets for a side constantly punching above its weight.

HISTORY REPEATS FOR CROATIA

NIZHNY NOVGOROD — It has been 20 years since Croatia’s stunning run at the 1998 World Cup.

A day ahead of its quarterfinal clash with Russian in Sochi, coach Zlatko Dalic and midfielder Ivan Rakitic were asked how that tournament influenced them.

“I was a child. I could not go to France,” said Rakitic, who grew up in Switzerland. “We were all crazy. We were very proud. We wanted to show our neighbours how powerful a football nation we are.

“They are our heroes,” Rakitic said of Davor Suker and Co. “They are our inspiration. They brought us to this point.”

Croatia’s 1998 squad dispatched Germany and the Netherlands en route to a third-place finish in France.

“We’d like to continue on their path,” Rakitic added. “Hopefully we will take a step further if we have the strength and the luck to do so.”

Croatia’s famous ’98 squad ultimately went out to host France in the semifinals of that tournament.

On Saturday night in Sochi, they’ll face another host squad.

“History is repeating itself now,” Dalic said of Croatia venturing into the Last Eight and, potentially, another semifinal.

“This was a great success for Croatia as a nation, as a country. We are on the right track.”

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