Philadelphia, Jul 05 (V7N) — Former world champions France booked their place in the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the Round of 16, courtesy of a second-half penalty from captain Kylian Mbappe.
The match was played in Philadelphia early Saturday (Bangladesh time).
France controlled possession from the opening whistle and spent much of the match in Paraguay's half. However, despite dominating the ball, Didier Deschamps' side struggled to create clear-cut scoring opportunities as Paraguay's disciplined defense kept the French attack under control.
Paraguay also looked to threaten on the counterattack but failed to trouble France's backline, with the first half ending goalless.
France intensified their pressure after the break and finally broke the deadlock in the 70th minute. After a French attacker was brought down inside the penalty area, the referee initially waved play on before overturning the decision following a VAR review and awarding a penalty.
Mbappe calmly converted from the spot to score the only goal of the match and send France into the last eight.
The goal took Mbappe's tally in the ongoing World Cup to seven, drawing him level with Lionel Messi in the race for the tournament's Golden Boot. It also moved the French captain to 19 career World Cup goals, leaving him just one behind Messi's all-time record of 20.
Paraguay pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages but failed to break through France's solid defense.
With the victory, France advanced to the quarter-finals, where they will face Morocco on Friday, July 10, with kickoff scheduled for 10:00 pm Bangladesh time.
END/SMA/AJ
