Kylian Mbappe’s penalty in the 70th minute gave France a 1-0 win over Paraguay in the last 16 of the World Cup in Philadelphia to set up a quarter-final meeting with Morocco.
Mbappe converted his kicks beautifully despite Paraguay’s attempts to stop him as he finally broke the South American team’s resistance and reached Lionel Messi’s level with seven World Cup goals.
Paraguay, who beat Germany in the previous round, had defended hard in the 39-degree heat until then, limiting France, the tournament’s dominant team so far, to long-range shots and successfully slowing down the game.
It took Desire Doue’s introduction to Bradley Barcola for France to find a way through. Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev initially appealed for a penalty after Diego Gomez was dispossessed but overturned the decision after a VAR review.
The Paraguayans tried to delay the penalty and got to the top but Mbappe held his nerve to find the bottom corner.
Paraguay’s frustration extended to sloppy challenges in the closing stages, most of which went unpunished by the referee who did not book Paraguay despite France’s protests and the confrontation between the players that continued after the final whistle.
Mbappe, who was targeted by Paraguay, was denied a second goal by a double save from Orlando Gill in stoppage time and later refused to shake the goalkeeper’s hand after Tantashev called time in a heated contest – and a bewildering performance by the referee.
Highlights from Philadelphia
- 22: FIRST SHOT! Manu Kone tries his luck from distance after a slow start from France
- 31: OPPORTUNITY! Mbappe had the opportunity to play the ball to Ousmane Dembele but failed to connect with his header
- 39: Mbappe grabs an arm in the face from unpunished Matias Galarza as France falter.
- 55 WAIT! Kone’s dive required an acrobatic save from Gill
- 67: VAR! The referee points to the spot after giving Desire Doue a foul on the pitchside monitor
- 70: GOAL! Mbappe’s goal despite Paraguay being late and trying to close the penalty area
- 77: FLASHPOINT! Juan Jose Caceres kicks Mbappe but avoids booking or red card
- 90+7: FINAL! Mbappe was denied by Gill’s double save before the fury spilled over after the final whistle
In pictures: How the rage ended
Gustavo Velazquez faces William Saliba and Maxence Lacroix
Matias Galarza reacts during the meeting with Michael Olise
Kylian Mbappe had a running battle with Juan Jose Caceres
Referee Ilgiz Tantashev booked a member of Paraguay’s coaching staff but no players
Deschamps: Paraguay uses every trick in the book
French manager Didier Deschamps he said: “It wasn’t easy. If we had taken one of our chances towards the end of the game, it would have been a comfortable finish.”
“Paraguay are using every trick in the book. It’s not really the type of football that people like to watch, but we stayed focused and that’s not easy to do.
“They are solid players and they defend very well. Another important step forward. It’s always difficult when we face South American teams, but I’m glad the players got the job done.
“We have entered the quarter-finals and we should be happy about that.”
Mbappe: We passed the test
The captain of France Kylian Mbappe he said: “We knew what kind of game to expect. I think it was very good for us to experience a game like this and see how we handled it.
“We have shown that we are not just a team that can play attacking football. Each team uses their strengths – there is no right or wrong way to play.
“The right way to win. Now we have to focus on Morocco. We are looking forward to facing them because we know they are a very good team.”
Paraguay avoids punishment
- Paraguay did not take a single card in the World Cup match for the first time since 1998 against Nigeria.
- Paraguay completed just 54 percent of its passes (99/183), the lowest accuracy rate in a World Cup playoff game in history (since 1966).
- This was the third World Cup knockout match on record (since 1966) that none went straight in the first half, after Brazil vs France in the quarter-final in 2006 and Germany vs Argentina in the 1990 final.
What’s next?
France you will face each other Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinals, the 2022 semi-final replay, on Thursday July 9, kicks off at 9pm (BST) in Boston.
