Published July 4, 2026
France needed Kylian Mbappe’s second-half penalty to break a stubborn Paraguay side, winning a miserable World Cup round of 16 tie 1-0 and setting up a quarter-final showdown with Morocco.
Paraguay’s attempts to get under the skin of the French superstars were successful for three quarters of the game, played in front of 68,324 fans in Philadelphia in intense heat on Saturday.
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However, the quality of the French side eventually showed through, with Mbappe converting from the penalty spot in the 70th minute after Désiré Douhet was brought down.
It wasn’t a masterclass in attack from the French as they had shown in their previous games, but Paraguay didn’t allow them to play that way.
It was a huge mismatch, however, with Les Blais having almost all the ball and Paraguay failing to get a shot on target until the 90th minute.
Mbappe’s brilliant success at the World Cup on an individual level continued when he joined Lionel Messi as joint top scorer at the tournament with seven goals.
In total, the Real Madrid striker has now scored 19 World Cup goals (in 19 matches), meaning he is just one behind Messi’s overall record (20).
Didier Deschamps’ side will now return to their base in Boston to prepare for their round of 16 clash in nearby Foxborough next Thursday against the Moroccans, who earlier beat Canada 3-0.
It was a sweltering day in Philadelphia, with temperatures at 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) and extreme weather warnings in place for storms.
France’s last visit to Lincoln Financial Field during the group stage was marked by storms as rain and thunder caused a two-hour delay during the 3-0 win over Iraq.
There was no interruption this time in the game, played in honor of the 250th anniversary of American Independence and in the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.
The pre-game concert on the field featured a performance of the US national anthem by actress Idina Menzel, a performance by hip-hop group The Roots and a flyover by the US Air Force.
The fireworks display in the city on the occasion of the 4th of July was supposed to take place later, and the expected French pyrotechnics on the field were held back for a long time by the Paraguayans.
Ranked 41st in the world, Paraguay ousted Germany on penalties in the last round and were aiming for another huge scalp here.
France’s Kylian Mbappe scores his first goal against Paraguay’s Orlando Gill from the penalty spot (Bill Streicher/Reuters)
They played with a back five, defended as a low block and were quite happy to live up to some South American stereotypes, sometimes with a cynical approach.
This led to Mbappe’s frustration getting the better of him as he got into a brawl with Andres Cubas. Moments later, Matias Galarza made a slight attack on the France captain without the ball.
France had virtually all of the ball but struggled to do anything with it, being limited to long-range shots.
Manu Kone had one attempt saved midway through the first half and another was saved by Orlando Gill shortly after the restart.
Paraguay’s attempts to upset France worked, but the dark arts did not bring them success.
With Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele struggling to make an impact, Deschamps decided to remove Bradley Barcola and replace him with Douai on the left flank.
It was just after the hour mark and Doe quickly found success.
As he tried to break through a sea of Paraguayan defenders, he fell under a blow from Diego Gomez. The foul was obvious, and after watching, the Uzbek referee pointed to the spot.
Dembélé defended the penalty when several Paraguay players tried to get past him. Mbappe then stepped forward and entered the game.
Having won on penalties in the last round, Paraguay’s resistance was broken by one this time.
It wasn’t a typical French performance, but Mbappe almost scored again in stoppage time and they took another step towards their goal.
In 1998, they needed a golden goal to beat Paraguay at the same stage of the competition. And they won that world championship.