Mbappe's penalty fires France past Paraguay
Kylian Mbappe's second-half penalty earned France a hard-fought 1-0 win over Paraguay in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 in scorching Philadelphia heat, sending Les Bleus into a mouth-watering quarter-final against Morocco.
Mbappe's 19th FIFA World Cup goal in as many appearances ensured there would be no repeat of Paraguay's shock elimination of four-time champion Germany – or Cape Verde's near-miracle against Argentina the previous day – as France survived a contest its opponent repeatedly dragged into murky waters.
"We knew what kind of match we were going to have. If we have to get our hands dirty, we can do that. We can play ugly football. They thought we would turn up in tuxedos, but we were there," Mbappe said after the match.
"Even at that game, we were better than them. That's their football – there is no right or wrong way to play the game. They tried to get at us that way, but we won."
Despite Aurelien Tchouameni's last-gasp withdrawal with a muscle injury, France looked prepared for the scrap, dominating the ball before turning frustration into urgency after the break to set up a repeat of its semi-final against Morocco four years ago.
Paraguay had hoped to avenge its 1998 Round of 16 defeat by eventual champion France, settled by Laurent Blanc's golden goal, but its minimalist approach was again left unrewarded.
France made one change from the side that beat Sweden 3-0, with Manu Kone replacing the injured Tchouameni alongside Adrien Rabiot in midfield, while Paraguay set up in a defensive 5-4-1 formation.
With temperatures reaching 39 degrees Celsius, France found clear openings hard to come by against a Paraguay side that defended ruggedly.
Neither side managed a shot on target before the break, with Rabiot, Kone and Ousmane Dembele all trying their luck without reward, while Julio Enciso offered Paraguay's lone threat at the other end.
For France, it was turning into a test of patience, but it pressed on after the interval and finally broke through when substitute Desire Doue, on for Bradley Barcola, was tripped in the box by Diego Gomez.
After a video assistant referee (VAR) review, Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev awarded the penalty and Mbappe coolly converted in the 70th minute, wrong-footing Orlando Gill for his seventh goal of the tournament, drawing him level with Lionel Messi and one behind the Argentina talisman on the all-time list.
Nerves crept in when Mike Maignan was finally called into action in the 90th minute, making his first save of the game as Paraguay, provocative until the end and hunting for fouls around the box, tried to turn the final minutes into chaos.
France then faced another sweaty spell in stoppage-time after Mbappe was denied twice in quick succession by Gill, leaving Les Bleus to close out the win the hard way.
France coahc Didier Deschamps said he had instructed Mbappe's team-mates to shield the France captain in the closing stages as Paraguay searched for a way back into the game.
"I asked the two biggest lads to go and stand around Kylian at the end because they were going to chop him down," Deschamps said.
"It wasn't easy. They use every trick in the book. It's not the kind of football that will bring people to the stadium, but they defended well. It is always difficult against these South American teams."
France faces Morocco in a repeat of the semi-final fixture four years ago in Qatar after the African champion easily dealt with co-host Canada earlier in the day, winning 3-0 in their Round of 16 clash.
