Kylian Mbappe converted a 70th-minute penalty for the striker’s seventh goal of the World Cup 2026 as France beat Paraguay in a fractious last-16 tie in Philadelphia to set up a quarter-final against Morocco.
Real Madrid forward Mbappe struck coolly from the spot with his country’s 150th World Cup goal after Diego Gomez was correctly adjudged to have brought down substitute Desire Doue following a Video Assistant Referee review.
Paraguay, who knocked out Germany on penalties in their first knockout-stage match of the finals, repeatedly escaped punishment from referee Ilgiz Tantashev for a succession of cynical-looking fouls, including a clear kick by Juan Jose Caceres on Mbappe after the goal.
Kylian Mbappé takes his World Cup tally to SEVEN equalling Lionel Messi 🔝
With that, he scores France’s 150th ever World Cup goal 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/i4Uvg6Ed8o
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 4, 2026
For all their apparent gamesmanship, La Albirroja performed admirably to restrict their vaunted opponents to precious few openings during the first half, although Manu Kone forced goalkeeper Orlando Gill to push his long-range effort behind in a fine save shortly after half-time.
Gill’s excellent double save prevented Mbappe from firing in another during 10 minutes of added time, ending in a melee between both squads near the centre circle and justifiably exuberant celebrations for the victors.
France vs Paraguay: Bleus earn bruising World Cup win
Adopting an attritional approach against opponents who had accumulated four preceding wins and 13 goals, Paraguay somehow escaped any bookings while producing “every single dark art you can use,” according to former Scotland international Pat Nevin.
“Paraguay are trying to wind up the France players,” Nevin told BBC Sport, while former England goalkeeper Joe Hart called the South American side a “disgrace” and the lack of action against them “astonishing”.
Tempers boiled over after the full-time whistle at the end of a tense game between France and Paraguay 😬 pic.twitter.com/4y9IxYzGEn
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 4, 2026
The ploy almost worked, although Paraguay head coach Gustavo Alfaro’s gesturing that Doue had dived for the penalty was fanciful.
Despite the nature of their exit, Paraguay will take pride in their three-match unbeaten run after a 4-1 opening defeat to an impressive USA side, beating Turkiye and drawing with Australia before ousting four-time champions Die Mannschaft.
France take on the Atlas Lions, who beat Canada 3-0 earlier on Saturday, in Boston on Thursday (21:00 BST).
Kylian Mbappe vs Lionel Messi: World Cup top scorer standings
Here’s how the golden boot race looks after Saturday’s action. Mbappe is ahead of Messi because the 27-year-old has more assists.
| Player | Country | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kylian Mbappe | France | 7 | 2 |
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | 7 | 0 |
| Erling Haaland | Norway | 5 | 0 |
| Harry Kane | England | 5 | 0 |
| Ousmane Dembele | France | 4 | 2 |
| Vinicius Junior | Brazil | 4 | 1 |
| Mikel Oyarzabal | Spain | 4 | 1 |
| Ismaila Sarr | Senegal | 4 | 1 |
World Cup 2026: Paraguay team vs France
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
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
World Cup 2026: Paraguay vs France stats
- France have won 16 of their 19 World Cup matches since the start of the 2018 tournament
- Didier Deschamps has recorded 19 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 not beaten France in six attempts (D2 L4), losing both such matches at the World Cup
- They have not scored more than once in any of their last nine matches at the World Cup
- With 33 goals in 32 World Cup matches, 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
- 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
