Paraguay 0-1 France: Mbappe's penalty kick sends Paraguay back home in feisty World Cup clash

Kylian Mbappe made it 19 goals in 19 World Cup appearances as his 70th-minute penalty helped France reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Paraguay. 

Match Report

Kylian Mbappe made it 19 goals in 19 World Cup appearances as his 70th-minute penalty helped France reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Paraguay. 

In what was a feisty clash at Philadelphia Stadium where tempers flared on more than one occasion, Mbappe stayed calm under pressure to seal his team's progression. 

And their reward is a reunion with Morocco in the last eight. France beat the Atlas Lions 2-0 in the semi-finals of the World Cup four years ago in Qatar. 

Paraguay, as they did against Germany, frustrated France. In fact, it was only the fourth time since 1966 Les Bleus had not had a shot in the first 20 minutes of a World Cup match, though Manu Kone's deflected shot off Diego Gomez almost nestled into the bottom-left corner moments later. 

Mbappe was then inches away from getting on the end of Ousmane Dembele's teasing delivery before Adrien Rabiot fired way over Orlando Gill's crossbar from distance. 

It was only the third World Cup knockout game since 1966 to not have a single shot on target in the first half, though another stinging shot from Kone in the 54th minute forced Gill into action for the first time.  

Didier Deschamps turned to his bench and introduced Desire Doue for Dembele, and he made an instant impact after he was tripped in the penalty area by Gomez, with referee Ilgiz Tantashev pointing to the spot after being sent to the pitchside monitor for a VAR review. 

Paraguay, as they had done for much of the game, attempted to delay the restart and put Mbappe off, but the France captain remained unfazed and sent Gill the wrong way from 12 yards to net his 11th knockout goal at the World Cup, three more than any other player in the history of the competition. 

Mike Maignan had to be on his toes at the other end to thwart Mauricio's effort late on, while a brilliant double save from Gill denied Mbappe twice in quick succession as France held on for the additional 10 minutes of stoppage time. 

Captain Mbappe the man for the big occasion again in World Cup knockouts

Many expected France to continue to showcase their World Cup credentials by breezing past giant-killing Paraguay, but Deschamps' side did not have things all their own way here, but they were able to keep their heads in a game their opponents intended to make ugly. 

And it was always going to be Mbappe who would ultimately have the last laugh, as he continued to challenge Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot by going level on seven goals with the Argentina captain at this year's tournament. 

On the day he captained France for the 10th time at a major tournament, becoming the fourth player to do so, Mbappe scored France's 150th World Cup goal, with only Brazil (246), Germany (243) and Argentina managing more in the competition's history. 

Since the 2018 World Cup, Mbappe's 19 goals are four more than any other player at the tournament, while his 11 goals in the knockout stages of FIFA's flagship competition in that time are more than both Brazil and England (both 10). 

But his match-winning moment owed a lot to the good work from Doue. The Paris Saint-Germain forward is the second substitute to win a penalty for France in a World Cup match, along with Randal Kolo Muani in the 2022 final versus Argentina.

And France were deserving victors here, too. They finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.36 from their 15 shots to Paraguay's 0.15 from their five attempts. 

Line-ups

Paraguay XI: G.Gómez, Gustavo Velázquez, J.Alonso, Almiron, Omar Alderete, Andrés Cubas, Orlando Gill, Julio Enciso, Matías Galarza, Juan José Cáceres, Diego Gómez

Subs: Roberto Fernández, Balbuena, Gabriel Ávalos, Sanabria, Gastón Olveira, Kaku, Álex Arce, José Canale, Braian Ojeda, Isidro Pitta, Mauricio, Damián Bobadilla, Ramón Sosa, Gustavo Caballero, Alexandro Maidana

France XI: Digne, Maignan, Rabiot, Dembele, Mbappe, Upamecano, Kounde, Saliba, Manu Koné, Olise, Barcola

Subs: Brice Samba, Kante, Lucas, Thuram, Theo, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Konate, Tchouameni, Maxence Lacroix, Cherki, Gusto, Zaire-Emery, Maghnes Akliouche, Doue, Robin Risser