Familiar faces meet as France, Uruguay do battle 5 years after youth clash

Five years after France and Uruguay met in the 2013 Under-20 World Cup final in Turkey, the two sides are set to clash in Russia with a semi-final spot on the line.

France topped Uruguay 4-1 on penalties, with current Paris Saint-Germain and Les Bleus No. 2 shot-stopper Alphonse Areola the hero with a pair of spot-kick saves after a goalless affair. With the victory, France became the first nation to win all five of FIFA's 11-a-side men's titles.

Of the 21 players in Pierre Mankowski's squad in 2013, four are in Didier Deschamps' lineup in Russia, one fewer than the number of Uruguayans to make both Juan Verzeri's Under-20 squad and Oscar Tabarez's roster at the World Cup.

Paul Pogba, Florian Thauvin, and Areola started the match at the Turk Telecom Arena in Istanbul, while Samuel Umtiti was suspended. Senegal full-back Youssouf Sabaly, Gabon international Mario Lemina, and the likes of Kurt Zouma, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Lucas Digne, and Jordan Veretout also lined up for L'Espoirs. Raphael Varane missed out with injury.

For Uruguay, Jose Maria Gimenez, Diego Laxalt, and Gaston Silva started, while La Albiceleste widemen Guillermo Varela and Giorgian De Arrascaeta came off the bench in the second half.

Gimenez was widely regarded the best defender at the tournament just weeks after Diego Simeone and Atletico Madrid secured the 18-year-old's services from Montevideo outfit Danubio on a scant €900,000 transfer.

It capped a meteoric rise from Uruguayan professional football to one of Europe's biggest clubs. Gimenez was an integral part of Uruguay's efforts to keep a France side that was averaging over two goals per match at bay, filling in at right-back for attack-minded Varela as then-Danubio mate Emiliano Velazquez deputised at centre-half. Injuries and fatigue saw Gimenez limp off the pitch in the 84th minute, but by then, the emerging development of a star in the making had vaulted the teenage defender into the spotlight.

If Gimenez was a top-flight talent in waiting, Pogba arrived in Turkey burdened by the expectations of pending stardom. A Manchester United academy product pegged for greatness, Pogba moved to Juventus under less than desirable circumstances. "It is disappointing," Red Devils legend Sir Alex Ferguson said in 2012. "I don't think he showed us any respect at all, to be honest. I'm quite happy that if they (footballers) carry on that way, they're probably better doing it away from us."

Fresh off a maiden campaign in Italy that saw the towering midfielder start 18 of Juventus' 38 league engagements, Pogba won the Golden Ball at the Under-20 World Cup and later nabbed the Golden Boy for the best young player in Europe. The conquest in Turkey was the latest notch in a blossoming career that half a decade later has Pogba among football's elites.

For both Pogba and Gimenez, starring performances at the Under-20 World Cup marked the pair's distinct rise to top-tier status. Five years later, the two are set to again play an integral role for their respective sides, this time on the sport's grandest stage.