Paraguay tried everything to unsettle France during their bruising FIFA World Cup Round of 32 clash, from relentless physical challenges to heated confrontations. But one incident, moments before Kylian Mbappe’s match-winning penalty, summed up just how far they were willing to go.
France were frustrated for much of the first half by a Paraguay side determined to turn the contest into a physical battle. Tempers flared when Andres Cubas brought down Mbappe, sparking a brief confrontation between the two sets of players. Moments later, Matias Galarza caught the France captain with a swinging elbow, sending him crashing to the turf. Yet Mbappe had the final say with the only goal of the match, though not before another controversial act from Paraguay.
France were awarded a penalty midway through the second half after a VAR review ruled that Diego Gómez had fouled Désiré Doué inside the box. Ousmane Dembele walked to the spot with the ball, convincing Paraguay’s players that he would take the penalty as they continued protesting to Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev.
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What followed was in keeping with everything that had gone before. Paraguay defender Gustavo Velázquez deliberately scuffed the penalty spot in an apparent attempt to disrupt Dembélé’s routine and unsettle France.
The mind games, however, spectacularly backfired.
At the last moment, Dembélé handed the ball to Mbappe, who ignored the damaged spot and calmly converted from 12 yards to score what proved to be the match-winning goal and send France into the quarterfinals.
The strike was France’s 150th goal in FIFA World Cup history, while Les Bleus have now scored 13 goals in their first five matches of the tournament.
It was also Mbappe’s 19th goal in just 19 World Cup appearances, leaving him one shy of equalling Lionel Messi’s all-time tournament record. Mbappe also reclaimed sole possession of the Golden Boot race with seven goals, edging ahead of Messi by virtue of two assists compared to the Argentine’s none.
Mbappe’s penalty was also his 11th goal in a World Cup knockout-stage match, extending the all-time record he set against Sweden, when he passed the Brazilian pair of Leonidas and Ronaldo (8 apiece).
France will next face Morocco in the quarterfinal on Thursday in Foxborough. Les Bleus had defeated Morocco 2-0 in the semifinals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
