The penalty kick sealed the deal

LIVE NOW: Paraguay, the giant-killer, faces France

France has him to thank for making it to the World Cup quarterfinals: Kylian Mbappé(Bild: AFP/MAURO PIMENTEL)

What a soccer battle, what a game filled with emotion and unbridled passion: France has solidified its claim to the title at the 23rd World Cup in history by advancing to the quarterfinals! Kylian Mbappé and his teammates had to fight hard against Paraguay—Germany’s nemesis—in front of about 69,000 spectators in Philadelphia, but they ultimately won 1-0 thanks to a penalty kick...

While this marks a surprisingly early end to the South Americans’ run in the tournament, “Les Bleus” now face “only” three more hurdles on their path to their long-awaited third title, having cleared five so far. Starting with Morocco in the quarterfinals this coming Thursday...

The French team(Bild: AP/Matt Rourke)

The Paraguay team(Bild: AP/Matt Rourke)

Forecast Storm Spares the Stadium
France and Philadelphia—there was something about that, wasn’t there? That’s right! Just as during their last visit to Lincoln Financial Field against Iraq eleven days ago, there were major concerns in the hours leading up to today’s scheduled kickoff due to a severe storm forecast by meteorologists. Once again, warnings were issued for severe thunderstorms, high winds, heavy rain, and lightning—though at least tornadoes were not considered likely this time. In the end, the French and Paraguayan teams, as well as the tens of thousands of fans in the stands of the arena normally used by the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, were lucky—and the predicted severe storm spared the second Round of 16 match and the very last game in Philadelphia at the North American World Cup...

As for the French “storm,” the squad—lined up by head coach Didier Deschamps in his usual, offensively versatile 4-2-3-1 formation—gave no indication that they would go easy on their opponent. Kylian Mbappé, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola, and Ousmane Dembélé were once again slated for the attack; compared to the Round of 16 match against Sweden, the only change to the starting lineup was Manu Koné replacing the injured Aurélien Tchouaméni in central midfield. Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro, by contrast, made more changes, altering his lineup in three positions following the upset victory over Germany: Omar Alderete, Gustavo Velázquez, and Diego Gomez replaced José Canale, Damián Bobadilla, and Gabriel Ávalos—and lined up in a predictable, heavily defensive 5-4-1 formation for the match.

(Bild: AFP/JEWEL SAMAD)

The French push their possession up to 90 percent
And indeed: Just as aggressively, emotionally, and passionately as the Paraguayans had sung (?) their national anthem before referee Ilgiz Tantashev blew the whistle, they subsequently defended their penalty area and goal with the same intensity. Despite “Les Bleus”’ possession rate at times soaring to absurdly high levels of around 90 (!!!) percent, the South Americans effectively allowed no chances. After half an hour, with expected goals figures of 0.02 (Paraguay) and 0.03 (France)—Coach Alfaro’s team, defending in a deep block, proved to be at least as impenetrable as the “Iron Curtain” between Western and Eastern Europe may once have been, if not quite as deadly...

No matter what Coach Deschamps’s squad tried—neither dribbles nor crosses nor through balls—could create dangerous situations —and when a cross or pass did slip through, Paraguay’s goalie Orlando Gill, unlike the sweltering heat of around 40 degrees Celsius, was hardly ever put to the test. In the end, the French had nothing more than near-chances to show for themselves by halftime—namely, long-range shots that missed the goal (24’/Koné, 33’/Adrien Rabiot, 39’/Mbappé) and headers that went wide (31’/Mbappé).

The most controversial moment of the game: the unpunished foul on Kylian Mbappé(Bild: Screenshot ServusTV)

Assault on Mbappé goes unpunished
The most precarious situation in the first half occurred during a clash between French superstar Mbappé and Paraguayan endurance runner Matías Galarza: When the two crossed paths, the latter struck the former in the upper body, causing him to fall to the ground. Referee Tantashev apparently didn’t notice the foul, and to the relief of the South Americans , the VAR didn’t intervene either —more info on that HERE! With expected goals (xG) figures of a less-than-impressive 0.05 and 0.15, respectively, the teams headed into the locker rooms shortly thereafter.

The nature of the game remained the same after the restart
With no substitutions and no major change in the nature of the game, Paraguay and France finally kicked off the second 45 minutes of their Round of 16 matchup. The multi-layered defensive wall—which felt like it was built by more than just eleven South Americans—continued to withstand the attacking attempts of the 2022 World Cup runners-up, and “Les Bleus” still lacked any kind of moment of genius to catch the Paraguayans off guard.

At one point, of all people, France’s goalie Mike Maignan had a brilliant idea when, in the 51st minute following a corner kick, he reacted with lightning speed and sent Mbappé on a long run toward the opponent’s goal —but the Real Madrid star fumbled his first touch of the ball at top speed, and Cáceres was able to make a crucial intervention. Of all the near-chances so far, this would likely have been the biggest...

(Bild: AP/Petr David Josek)

Mbappé’s near-chance serves as a wake-up call for “Les Bleus”
Still, this play was definitely a wake-up call for Deschamps’ squad. Immediately afterward, Ousmane Dembélé was left unmarked following a quickly taken corner, allowing him to weave his way along the baseline and take a shot—though he only hit the outside netting, but it slowly seemed as though a goal was actually in the air. Just as it was a short time later with a long-range shot by Koné, which forced goalie Gill to stretch quite a bit to make the save.

Mbappé’s 19th World Cup goal secures a spot in the quarterfinals
After 61 minutes, the day’s work was over for Barcola, who had remained relatively inconspicuous and was replaced by Désiré Doué—and his substitution would prove, five minutes later, to be the brilliant, match-deciding move by coach Deschamps. While dribbling into the penalty area, Doué was fouled by Diego Gomez—and even though it required a review by the VAR, a penalty kick was awarded! Mbappé converted it for his 19th goal at World Cups—a goal that would ultimately secure the victory and, with it, a spot in the quarterfinals...

(Bild: AFP/JEWEL SAMAD)

Apart from various unsportsmanlike acts—such as a kick by Caceres against Mbappé (77th minute) or an elbow by substitute Ávalos against Dayot Upamecano (80th minute)—the Paraguayans had little else up their sleeves. Perhaps with the exception of a long-range shot by Maurício Magalhães in the 90th minute, which goalkeeper Maignan was able to secure. In fact, Mbappé could have extended the lead to 2–0 three times (90th, 90+6), but Paraguay’s goalkeeper remained unbeatable.

Incidentally: Curiously, the rough-and-tumble South Americans got away without a single yellow card in a World Cup match for the first time since their 1998 clash with Nigeria, while the French were handed three cautions by referee Tantashev.

The result:
Paraguay – France 0–1 (0–0)
Philadelphia, Lincoln Financial Field, 68,324 spectators, Referee Ilgiz Tantashev (UZB)

Goal: 0–1 (70’/penalty) Mbappé

Yellow cards: none / Barcola, Kone, Olise

Paraguay: Gill – J. J. Caceres, Velazquez, G. Gomez, Alderete (58' Canale), Alonso – Almiron (71' Avalos), D. Gomez (71. Mauricio), Cubas, Galarza – Enciso (61. Caballero)
France: Maignan – Koundé, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne – Koné, Rabiot – Dembélé (84. Cherki), Olise, Barcola (61. Doue) – Mbappé