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Who: France vs Paraguay
Contents: 2026 FIFA World Cup – Round of 16
Location: Philadelphia Stadium (USA)
Date and time: Saturday, July 4th, 5pm (21:00 GMT)
How to follow: Get everything ready on Al Jazeera Sports from 18:00 GMT before the live text commentary stream.
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Kylian Mbappé’s France have been the standout team at the World Cup so far and are expected to reach the quarter-finals with a win over Paraguay on Saturday.
France look like a very good bet to win a third World Cup and are certainly expected to beat the Paraguay team, who are ranked 41st in the world.
France, who won the trophy in 2018 but lost on penalties in the 2022 final, are hoping to become the third team in World Cup history to reach the finals in a row, joining West Germany and Brazil.
It’s still a long way off, but their performance so far suggests they’ll take some beating.
They defeated Sweden 3-0 in the last 32 on Tuesday, with Mbappé scoring twice and Bradley Barcola one, giving them four wins and 13 points from four games.
However, the Paraguayans headed to Philadelphia full of confidence after their penalty shootout victory over Germany. As a result, it was declared a national holiday in the home country.
What happened in France’s last 32 games?
Mbappé scored twice as France defeated Sweden 3-0, with Michael Olise also in brilliant form.
The Real Madrid striker made a great move to break the deadlock just before half-time. Olise set up Paris Saint-Germain winger Barcola for his second goal in the 53rd minute, then played a superb pass to Mbappe to seal a convincing victory.
Mbappe’s goal moves him level with Lionel Messi with six goals in the All-Star Golden Boot race this World Cup.
The France captain has now scored 18 goals in total at the World Cup, one goal shy of Messi’s total of 19, and Mbappe, 27, will be chasing that record.
What happened in Paraguay’s last 32 games?
On Monday, the Germans led 1-0 at halftime after Julio Enciso headed home a cross from Matias Galarza in the 42nd minute.
The four-time champions looked sluggish in the first period, but leveled the score in the second half, with Kai Havertz scoring with a glancing header after Florian Wirtz’s ball from the wing eight minutes after the restart.
Germany then had Jonathan Tarr’s goal from a corner kick ruled out after a VAR review for a foul on the Paraguayan keeper, resulting in no extra points and the match went to spot kicks after extra time.
Havertz, who helped Arsenal win the English Premier League title this season after a 22-year wait, missed the opening kick in the penalty shootout. The forward’s team missed a total of three kicks, and he himself missed two, resulting in a 4-3 victory for Paraguay.
Deschamps releases the handbrake
France have enjoyed much success during Didier Deschamps’ 14 years as manager, but there has long been a feeling that the pragmatic manager has not allowed his team to unleash its full attacking potential.
Now that this is his last tournament before his retirement, things seem to have changed. Mbappe, Barcola, Ousmane Dembele and the great Michael Oliseh look unstoppable.
“There is great trust between the attacking players. They speak the same footballing language,” Deschamps said after the game against Sweden.
However, the French national team coach said that the French side had no intention of taking Paraguay lightly.
“It’s no coincidence that they’re here. Germany are a top team and they have South American DNA, which means they fit in there,” Deschamps said.
“Also, they have some good players. You can’t make it to the last 16 of the World Cup by chance.”
“We also have our own strengths.”
One of the best-known Paraguayan players in France is Strasbourg’s Julio Enciso, who scored against Germany.
He acknowledges that few expect Paraguay to win as they seek to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the second time.
“We have our own strengths as well, and we will try to make it difficult for any opponent with our style of play,” Enciso said.
Heat wave warning
One potential enemy for both teams is the weather, with temperatures in Philadelphia expected to reach 37 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday.
The game will be held in the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed 250 years ago, but the day’s celebrations are at risk of being affected by storms.
France has already played in Philadelphia this World Cup, and their 3-0 win over Iraq in the group stage was suspended for two hours due to rain and lightning.
This situation could be difficult to deal with, and both sides will want to avoid the draining prospect of extra time and penalties.
The last match at the World Cup went into extra time and was one of the most important moments in the modern history of the French national team.
In 1998, with Deschamps as captain, Les Bleus defeated Paraguay 1-0 to win their first trophy on home soil.
France vs Paraguay: kick-off time, TV channels
France: Bein Sports 1 (11pm CET) UK: BBC, ITV (10pm BST) US: FOX, Telemundo (5pm EDT)
To see the TV listings for your country, visit the FIFA TV listings schedule here.
France vs Paraguay predictions
Thanks to the Opta supercomputer, France has a 78.8% chance of winning within the stipulated time, compared to 7.6% for Paraguay.
The model estimates a 13.7% chance of a game going into overtime.
direct confrontation
The two countries have faced each other five times so far, with France winning three games and two ending in draws.
France defeated Paraguay 5-0 in their last encounter (a friendly in 2017), with Olivier Giroud scoring a hat-trick.
June 2, 2017: France 5-0 Paraguay (friendly) June 1, 2014: France 1-1 Paraguay (friendly) May 31, 2008: France 0-0 Paraguay (friendly) June 28, 1998: France 1-0 Paraguay (World Cup last 16) June 8, 1958: France 7-3 Paraguay (World Cup Group Stage)
team news
There are no suspensions or injury concerns reported for either team.
Expected starting lineup for France:
(4-2-3-1): Menyan (goalkeeper). Kunde, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne. Choameni, Rabio. Dembele, Olise, Barcola. mbappe
Paraguay’s projected starting lineup:
(4-3-3): Gil (goalkeeper); Caceres, G. Gomez, Canale, Alonso. Galarza, Cubas, and D. Gomez. Almiron, Avalos, Enciso
