France talisman Kylian Mbappe pushed Andres Cubas to start a mass confrontation as Paraguay held firm to ensure their last-16 tie against the tournament favourites reached half-time goalless in Philadelphia.
Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Cubas brought six-goal Mbappe down not far from the Paraguay penalty area, causing the Real Madrid forward to shove him in the chest before numerous players from both sides squared up to each other.
“It’s a clear foul from Cubas,” former England defender Stephen Warnock told BBC Sport. “I don’t know how it’s not a yellow card, actually.
“They’re under [France’s] skin. That’s exactly what they want. They want that reaction. They want retaliation. It means that France are frustrated.”
France vs Paraguay: Mbappe ‘irritated’ at World Cup
Paraguay took four points in their group before knocking Germany out on penalties but were considerable underdogs against a Bleus side who scored 13 goals across four opening wins.
Cubas, who appeared to share a cordial joke with Mbappe shortly afterwards, was not the only Paraguay player to apply rough treatment to the 27-year-old, who started the game one goal behind finals top scorer Lionel Messi.
“It’s unlike Kylian Mbappe to be frustrated, but it’s another tactical foul,” said Warnock, calling Paraguay’s defensive resolve “exceptional” and adding that head coach Gustavo Alfaro would have “dreamt” and “hoped” for his team’s first-half showing.
“It’s slowing the play down. It’s frustrating the French. Mbappe wasn’t going to allow the referee to be the only one who had a say about it.
“That will delight Paraguay, because they know that France are getting just a little bit irritated by proceedings.”
World Cup 2026: Paraguay team vs France
Diego Gomez returned 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 moved 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 team vs Paraguay
Manu Kone replaced Aurelien Tchouameni, who had a groin issue, in France’s one change from their dismantling of Sweden in the last 32.
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 was 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
- Michael Olise has five assists at the finals for France 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
