PHILADELPHIA — A 70th-minute penalty from Kylian Mbappé decided a scrappy contest as France beat Paraguay 1-0 on Saturday, advancing to a meeting with Morocco in Boston on Thursday, according to ESPN.
The penalty followed a foul by Paraguay’s Diego Gomez on substitute Désiré Doué inside the area. After a VAR review, referee Ilgiz Tantashev pointed to the spot and Mbappé sent goalkeeper Orlando Gill the wrong way, scoring what ESPN described as his seventh goal of the tournament.
ESPN noted that Mbappé’s seventh goal ties Argentina’s Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race and makes Mbappé the second player, alongside Messi, to score seven or more times at two different World Cups (2022 and 2026), according to ESPN.
The match was played in oppressive heat under a so-called heat dome, and the first half was characterized by few clear openings: five shots and a combined expected goals total of 0.20 (Paraguay 0.05, France 0.15), according to ESPN. Both teams committed fouls and exchanged angry words in a choppy opening period.
Paraguay employed a compact, physical approach designed to stifle France’s forwards, using a low block to limit space for the so-called “Fab Four” of Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola, ESPN reported. Paraguay also relied on the individual threat of Miguel Almirón and Julio Enciso and came into the match off a shock win over Germany.
France coach Didier Deschamps made one pregame change, selecting Manu Koné for the injured Aurélien Tchouaméni, and later brought on Désiré Doué for Bradley Barcola around the hour mark — a substitution that led to the penalty sequence, according to ESPN. Paraguay exited the tournament with respect for its performance, while France moves on to the next round.
