Mbappe scores again to send France past stubborn Paraguay

France needed a moment of individual brilliance to break through Paraguay’s disciplined block in Philadelphia, and Kylian Mbappé delivered exactly that. His 70th-minute penalty, converted with composure despite Paraguayan attempts to disrupt his rhythm, sealed a 1-0 victory in the World Cup last-16 tie and sent Les Bleus into the quarter-finals to face Morocco. The win, though hard-fought and occasionally ill-tempered, keeps Didier Deschamps’ side on course to defend their title after a campaign built on control and cutting edge.

Mbappé’s moment arrives after France’s patience wears thin

Paraguay entered the match as the tournament’s surprise package, fresh from eliminating Germany, and they set out to frustrate France from the first whistle. The South Americans packed their penalty area, absorbed pressure, and absorbed heat—temperatures reached 39 degrees in the stands—while restricting France to speculative efforts from distance. Manu Kone’s early strike from range was the clearest sign of French intent, but it was Ousmane Dembélé’s teasing cross that set up Mbappé’s best chance before half-time, his header narrowly drifting wide.

It took the introduction of substitutes Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola to shift the balance. Doué’s run into the box drew a foul from Diego Gómez inside the area, and after a VAR review, referee Ilgiz Tantashev pointed to the spot. Paraguay’s attempts to delay play—scuffing the grass around the penalty spot and surrounding Mbappé—only delayed the inevitable. When the moment came, Mbappé placed the ball with precision, sending Orlando Gill the wrong way to double his World Cup tally to seven and draw level with Lionel Messi.

Ref and tempers fray as Paraguay’s frustration boils over

The contest never settled into rhythm, and by the final third it had curdled into a series of confrontations. Paraguay’s frustration boiled over in the closing stages, with reckless challenges going unpunished despite French protests. Tantashev did not brandish a single card for Paraguay, a decision that drew sharp reactions from the French players and left the referee’s performance open to question. The tension spilled onto the pitch and lingered after the final whistle, when Mbappé declined to shake Gill’s hand—a rare moment of visible dissent from a player otherwise focused on the task at hand.

Mbappé nearly added a second in stoppage time, only for Gill to produce a double save that preserved Paraguay’s pride. The Paraguayan goalkeeper’s interventions came too late to change the outcome, but they underlined how close the South Americans had come to forcing extra time. Instead, France will march on, their quarter-final against Morocco now the most intriguing tie of the tournament so far.

Tactical takeaways: France’s adaptability vs Paraguay’s pragmatism

Deschamps’ side entered the game as the tournament’s standout performers, but Paraguay’s game plan exposed their limitations. The French struggled to break down a low block that prioritised compactness over ambition, and their best moments arrived through individual quality rather than collective rhythm. The introduction of Doué and Barcola injected fresh energy and width, stretching Paraguay’s defensive shape and creating the space for Mbappé’s decisive intervention.

Paraguay, meanwhile, will rue missed opportunities to exploit France’s high line, but their disciplined approach kept them in the contest longer than expected. Their inability to punish France on the counter, however, ultimately cost them. The defeat ends their fairytale run, but their tournament has already rewritten expectations for a nation more accustomed to qualifying than advancing.

France now face Morocco in a quarter-final that doubles as a clash of continents and styles. The Atlas Lions arrive in Philadelphia with a reputation for fearless attacking football, but Deschamps’ side have shown they can adapt when the path narrows. Mbappé’s penalty may have been the difference in Philadelphia, but the real test awaits in the next round—where Morocco’s intensity will demand a different kind of response.