France needed a second-half Kylian Mbappe penalty to finally unlock a stubborn Paraguay side on Sunday, scraping a gritty 1-0 victory in a tetchy World Cup last-16 showdown that books a quarter-final date with Morocco.
Paraguay’s plan to rattle France’s galaxy of stars worked for three-quarters of a bruising contest played before 68,324 sweaty souls in Philadelphia’s sweltering heatwave.
But class eventually told, with Mbappe converting from the spot in the 70th minute after Desire Doue off the bench was clumsily brought down.
This was not an attacking masterclass by the French like they had produced in their previous games, but Paraguay did not allow them to play that way.
It was very much a mismatch, though, with Les Bleus having almost all of the ball and Paraguay not managing a shot on target until the 90th minute.
Mbappe’s brilliant World Cup on a personal level continued as he rejoined Lionel Messi as the tournament’s joint-top scorer with seven goals.
The Real Madrid striker now has 19 World Cup goals from just 19 appearances, leaving him only one shy of Messi’s overall record of 20.
Didier Deschamps’ team will now return to their Boston base to prepare for a last-eight clash in nearby Foxborough next Thursday against the Moroccans, who beat Canada 3-0 earlier.
It was a sweltering day in Philadelphia, with temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) and extreme weather warnings in place in case of storms.
France had practically all of the ball but struggled to do anything with it, being restricted to shots from long range.
Manu Kone had one attempt deflected just wide midway through the first half and another tipped over by Orlando Gill not long after the restart.
Paraguay’s attempts to frustrate France were working, but the dark arts would only get them so far.
While Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele were struggling to influence the game, Deschamps opted to remove Bradley Barcola and put Doue on the left wing in his place.
That was just after the hour mark, and Doue quickly made an impact. When he attempted to dribble his way through a sea of Paraguayan defenders, he went down under contact from Diego Gomez. The foul was clear and the Uzbek referee pointed to the spot after a review.
Dembele protected the penalty spot as several Paraguay players tried to rough it up. Mbappe then stepped forward and slotted in. Having won on penalties in the last round, Paraguay’s resistance was broken by one this time.
It was not a vintage France performance, but Mbappe almost scored again in stoppage time, and they have taken another step towards their goal.
In 1998 they needed a golden goal to beat Paraguay at the same stage of the competition. And they went on to win that World Cup.
Read more about other World Cup teams in 2026 below:
Morocco national football team 2026
Argentina national football team 2026
Mexico national football team 2026
Spain national football team 2026
Brazil national football team 2026
France national football team 2026
Senegal national football team 2026