Paraguay and France have named their starting sides for their World Cup 2026 last-16 meeting in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Didier Deschamps’ side have won all four of their matches at the finals, beating Senegal 3-1, Iraq 3-0 and Norway 4-1 during the group stage before cruising past Sweden 3-0 in the first knockout round.
La Albirroja recorded a major upset by beating Germany on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the last 32, having taken four points to finish as one of the best third-placed teams during the group stage.
The winners of the tie will meet Morocco in the quarter-finals in Boston on Thursday (21:00 BST), followed by a potential semi-final against Portugal, Spain, the USA or Belgium in Dallas on July 14 (20:00).
Dernière séance à haute intensité pour nos gardiens avant le Paraguay 🧤🔥 pic.twitter.com/Fh9yqvg3Eb
— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) July 4, 2026
World Cup 2026: Paraguay confirmed team vs France
Diego Gomez returns from suspension as one of three new faces in Paraguay’s line-up alongside Gustavo Velazquez and Omar Alderete.
Jose Canale, Damian Bobadilla and Gabriel Avalos move to the bench.
Paraguay starting XI: Orlando Gill, Gustavo Velazquez, Omar Alderete, Juan Jose Caceres, Junior Alonso, Gustavo Gomez, Diego Gomez, Miguel Almiron, Andres Cubas, Matias Galarza, Julio Enciso
Paraguay substitutes: Gatito Fernandez, Gaston Olveira, Fabian Balbuena, Jose Canale, Alexandro Maidana, Ramon Sosa, Mauricio, Damian Bobadilla, Braian Ojeda, Gustavo Caballero, Antonio Sanabria, Alejandro Romero Gamarra, Alex Arce, Gabriel Avalos, Isidro Pitta
World Cup 2026: France full line up vs Paraguay
Manu Kone replaces Aurélien Tchouameni, who has a groin issue, in France’s one change from their dismantling of Blagult.
France starting XI: Mike Maignan, Lucas Digne, Dayot Upamecano, Jules Kounde, William Saliba, Manu Kone, Adrien Rabiot, Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola
France substitutes: Brice Samba, Robin Risser, Malo Gusto, Ibrahima Konate, Theo Hernandez, Lucas Hernandez, Maxence Lacroix, Aurelien Tchouameni, Ngolo Kante, Warren Zaire-Emery, Rayan Cherki, Maghnes Akliouche, Marcus Thuram, Desire Doue, Jean-Philippe Mateta
Where to watch Paraguay vs France: TV channel, online live stream
Kick-off on Saturday is at 22:00 BST (17:00 ET / 14:00 PT). In the UK, live TV coverage is on BBC One.
Streaming on a vast range of devices is available through the BBC iPlayer app and BBC Sport website.
World Cup 2026: Paraguay vs France stats
- Les Bleus are the highest-scoring team at the finals, with 12 goals, and have netted at least three times in each of their last four World Cup matches
- Kylian Mbappe has six goals in four appearances at the tournament, putting the Real Madrid striker one behind top scorer Lionel Messi, having contributed two more assists than the Arentina captain
- Michael Olise has five assists and is one away from matching Pele’s World Cup record of six at a single tournament
- France have won 15 of their 18 World Cup matches since the start of the 2018 tournament
- Didier Deschamps has recorded 18 World Cup victories as a manager, which is the most in tournament history
- Now 57, Deschamps was captain when France beat Paraguay in the last 16 on their way to glory on home soil at the 1998 finals, winning 1-0 through a 113th-minute Laurent Blanc goal
- Paraguay had only progressed from a World Cup knockout tie once previously, winning 5-3 on penalties against Japan in the 2010 last 16
- La Albirroja have lost one of their four matches at the World Cup 2026 but have not beaten France in five previous meetings (D2 L3), losing both such matches at the World Cup
- They have not scored more than once in any of their last seven matches at the World Cup
- With 33 goals in 31 World Cup matches (1.1 per game), Paraguay have the lowest average of any nation to have played at least 30 matches at the finals apart from South Korea (41 in 41).
- Julio Enciso’s opener against Germany was Paraguay’s first-ever goal in the knockout stage of the finals, having failed to score in their five previous such ties
