FIFA World Cup 2026: France beat Paraguay with Mbappe penalty to reach World Cup quarter-finals

France needed a secondhalf Kylian Mbappe penalty to break down a stubborn Paraguay side on Saturday winning a niggly World Cup last16 clash 10 to set up a quarterfinal showdown with Morocco Paraguays efforts to get under the skin of Frances superstars worked for three quarters of a game played in front of 68324 fans in Philadelphia in heatwave conditionsHowever the quality in the French ranks eventually shone through with Mbappe converting from the spot on 70 minutes after Desire Doue was brought downThis 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 wayIt 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 minuteMbappes brilliant World Cup on a personal level continued as he rejoined Lionel Messi as the tournaments jointtop scorer with seven goalsThe Real Madrid striker now has 19 World Cup goals in total from 19 appearances meaning he is just one behind Messis overall record of 20Didier Deschamps team will now return to their Boston base to prepare for a lasteight clash in nearby Foxborough next Thursday against the Moroccans who beat Canada 30 earlierIt was a sweltering day in Philadelphia with temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius 100 Fahrenheit and extreme weather warnings in place in case of stormsFrances last visit to Lincoln Financial Field during the group phase was affected by storms as rain and thunder led to a twohour delay during their 30 win over IraqJuly 4 celebrationsThis time there were no interruptions to a game played on the 250th anniversary of US independence and in the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776A prematch concert on the pitch featured a rendition of the US national anthem by the actress Idina Menzel a performance by hiphop band The Roots and a US Air Force flyoverA fireworks display in the city to mark July 4 was not due to take place until later and the anticipated French pyrotechnics on the pitch were contained for long spells by the ParaguayansRanked 41st in the world Paraguay had ousted Germany on penalties in the last round and were aiming to claim another huge scalp hereThey played with a back five defended with a low block and were quite happy to live up to some South American stereotypes with a cynical approach at timesThat led to Mbappes frustrations getting the better of him as he got involved in a shoving match with Andres Cubas Moments later Matias Galarza had a little lash out at the France captain off the ballFrance 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 restartParaguays attempts to frustrate France were working but the dark arts would only get them so farWhile 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 placeThat was just after the hour mark and Doue quickly made an impactWhen 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 reviewDembele protected the penalty spot as several Paraguay players tried to rough it up Mbappe then stepped forward and slotted inHaving won on penalties in the last round Paraguays resistance was broken by one this timeIt was not a vintage France performance but Mbappe almost scored again in stoppage time and they have taken another step towards their goalIn 1998 they needed a golden goal to beat Paraguay at the same stage of the competition And they went on to win that World CupThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever