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France defeated Paraguay 1-0 this Saturday in the round of 16 of the , held at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, and advanced to the quarter-finals with an impeccable tournament record of five wins in five matches.
The only goal of the match came in the 70th minute from a penalty converted by Kylian Mbappé, the all-time top scorer in World Cups, breaking the defensive barrier that Paraguay had maintained for over an hour of play.
The French dominated the match from start to finish with overwhelming statistical superiority: 76% possession compared to 24% for the South Americans, 15 shots to five, and 11 corners against just one from Paraguay.
Despite their dominance, the French effectiveness was limited in the first half, which ended goalless.
Only five of the 15 shots by the French hit the target, which explains the close final score.
Paraguay attempted to slow down the game with as many as 12 fouls committed and made four substitutions in the second half — Canale for Alderete in the 58th minute, Caballero for Enciso in the 61st, and Mauricio and Ávalos for Gómez and Almirón in the 71st — without managing to level the match.
France also made a substitution: Doué came on for Barcola in the 61st minute, when the winger had already received a yellow card since the 19th minute.
The Gallic team finished the match with a total of three yellow cards—Barcola, Koné in the 81st minute, and Olise in the 90th—while Paraguay received none.
One of the standout plays was indeed Doué's entrance following Barcola's exit, which coincided with the crucial stage of the match: just nine minutes later, Mbappé converted the penalty that secured the progression to the quarter-finals.
With this result, France achieves five consecutive victories in the tournament, after thrashing Senegal (3-1), Iraq (3-0), Norway (4-1), and Sweden (3-0) in the Round of 16, always under the management of Didier Deschamps.
Paraguay, which had caused a major upset in the tournament by eliminating Germany in penalties on June 29 in Boston, is eliminated from the 2026 World Cup after reaching the Round of 16 for the first time since South Africa 2010.
France will play their quarter-final match between July 9 and 12, aiming for a third consecutive final: the Gallic team won in Russia in 2018 and fell in Qatar in 2022.
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