Published July 4, 2026
France needed a second-half penalty from Kylian Mbappé to overcome a stubborn Paraguayan team, winning 1-0 in a close World Cup last-16 match and setting up a quarter-final showdown with Morocco.
Paraguay’s efforts to target the French superstar paid off for three-quarters of the match in front of 68,324 fans in Philadelphia in heat wave conditions on Saturday.
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But in the end, the quality of France’s players shone through, with Mbappé scoring the spot goal after Desir Douet was brought down in the 70th minute.
This was not the attacking masterclass that France had shown in previous matches, but Paraguay did not allow France to play like that.
However, it was a huge mismatch, with Les Bleus dominating most of the ball and Paraguay not getting a shot on target until the 90th minute.
Mbappe continued his impressive performance at the World Cup on an individual level, rejoining Lionel Messi as the tournament’s top scorer with seven goals.
The Real Madrid striker has now scored 19 goals in 19 appearances at the World Cup, meaning he is just one goal away from Messi’s 20 goals.
Didier Deschamps’ team is now back at home in Boston, preparing for next Thursday’s round-of-eight clash in nearby Foxboro against Morocco, who earlier defeated Canada 3-0.
It was a sweltering day in Philadelphia, with temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) and extreme weather warnings in place for a potential storm.
France’s last visit to Lincoln Financial Field was during the group stage, but the game was affected by a storm that caused a two-hour delay due to rain and lightning during a 3-0 win over Iraq.
This time, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence, the game, which was held in the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, was not interrupted.
The pre-game concert on the field included actress Idina Menzel singing the US national anthem, a performance by hip-hop band The Roots and a US Air Force flyover.
A fireworks display in the city to commemorate July 4th is scheduled to be postponed, with French fireworks expected on the pitch being blocked for a long time by Paraguayans.
Paraguay, ranked 41st in the world, defeated Germany in a penalty shootout in the final match and were aiming for another big scalp here.
They played with a back five, defended with a low block and were happy to live up to South American stereotypes with a sometimes cynical approach.
This left Mbappé frustrated and involved in a shoving match with Andres Cubas. Shortly after, Matias Galarza lashed out at the French captain a bit off the ball.
Although France had virtually complete control of the ball, they were limited to only shooting from long range and were unable to do anything with the ball.
Manu Kohn’s shot went off target once midway through the first half, and the other was tipped over by Orlando Gil shortly after the restart.
Paraguay’s attempts to frustrate France were successful, but the dark arts had their limits.
While Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele have struggled to influence the game, Deschamps has opted to remove Bradley Barcola and replace him with Doue on the left wing.
It was just over an hour in, and Duet made an immediate impact.
As he tried to dribble through a sea of Paraguayan defenders, he collided with Diego Gomez and went down. The foul was clear and the Uzbek referee pointed to the spot after review.
Dembele defended the penalty spot as several Paraguayan players tried to raid it. Then Mbappé came forward and pushed it in.
They won the previous match in a penalty shootout, but this time they defeated Paraguay’s resistance by themselves.
It wasn’t a vintage France performance, but Mbappé almost scored again in stoppage time and the team took another step towards their goal.
In 1998, they needed a golden goal to defeat Paraguay at the same stage. And they went on to win the World Cup.
