The French team escaped from the trap set by a very limited Paraguay (1-0), Saturday in Philadelphia in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup. Jostled from start to finish, the Blues found the fault on a penalty thanks to their captain Kylian Mbappé (70th) who scored his 7th goal in this edition. They will face Morocco on July 9 in the quarter-finals.

Published on: 05/07/2026 - 01:05 Modified on: 05/07/2026 - 08:17

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The battle was tough and the victory less beautiful than usual. But could it be otherwise against a Paraguay who did not come to play football in this round of 16 of the World Cup? With its five-man defense concocted especially for the occasion, under a blazing sun, this duel against Paraguay had all the appearance of the trap match par excellence, Saturday July 4 in Philadelphia. And if the Blues undoubtedly dominated the match with almost 80% possession at the final whistle, the strategy of Gustavo Alfaro's men almost bore fruit.

Between the blows distributed to French captain Kylian Mbappé – pulled to the ground by Cubas (34th) before a tense scuffle between the two teams then targeted by an elbow from Galarza far from the ball (39th) – and the rough two-handed takes on Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise, the Blues were padlocked and did not manage the slightest shot on target on Orlando Gill's goal in the first period.

The thread of the match: Paraguay - France: the Blues escape from the Paraguayan trap

Manu Koné however tried to surprise the Paraguayan goalkeeper with a powerful strike at the edge of the area (22nd), just like Adrien Rabiot left alone in the middle (33rd). But nothing precise enough to hope to gain the advantage. As the match gradually built up pressure, without intervention from the referee to calm the enthusiasm of the Paraguayans, the Blues' top scorer almost took a header from close range in front of the goal (31st) and Jules Koundé stood out with a crushed volley well captured by Gill (35th). But the battle was still going to be long and tough to bring down an Albirroja whose maneuvers were more than doubtful.

Gifted unlocks, Mbappé frees

The threat to the Paraguayan goal became clearer afterwards, Maignan propelling Mbappé in depth with a perfect restart behind the defense. But a failed check and the return of Caceres deprived him of an ideal face-to-face with the goalkeeper (51st). Koné then signed the Blues' first attempt on target by forcing Gill to deflect his shot with the tip of his gloves (53rd).

Entering at the hour mark, Désiré Doué was perfectly responsible for fulfilling his role: bringing the spark that was missing in this match. After a slalom between several players in the area, obvious contact on the ankle forced the referee to check the action and finally award a penalty to the Blues (65th). Despite attempts to destabilize the opposing players, grouped at the penalty point to delay the deadline, Kylian Mbappé transformed without trembling to the right of Gill's goal to finally free the France team (70th, 0-1) in an increasingly incredible match. The Frenchman also signed his 7th achievement in this World Cup to return to the level of Lionel Messi at the top of the scorers' ranking, and one behind in the general ranking (19 goals).

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Without reaction or cards issued in the face of the numerous acts of anti-play by the opponent, the referee allowed the match to deteriorate little by little until its end. Kylian Mbappé still worried the Paraguayan goalkeeper with a powerful strike at the entrance to the area repelled by a good save (89th) then with a double attempt also blocked in the final moments (90th+7). At the end of a match which was anything but an ode to football and which clearly escaped the referee, the final result is all that we will remember from this round of 16. The Blues once again reach the quarter-finals and will face Morocco, earlier defeater of Canada, on July 9 in Boston.

Find: The schedule for the final phase

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