2026 World Cup: France qualifies through pain against Paraguay thanks to an Mbappé penalty

The scenario was decided on a penalty won by Désiré Doué, who came on in the 61st minute in place of Bradley Barcola. Five minutes after coming onto the pitch, the 21-year-old was brought down in the box by Paraguayan defender Diego Gómez. Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev initially did not blow his whistle, but VAR intervened and imposed the sanction. Mbappé, with a side-footed shot into the bottom right corner, converted the chance (70th) to score his seventh goal of the tournament, the 19th of his World Cup career.

Mbappé's penalty, the turning point of the match

In a match where the thermometer read nearly 38°C at kickoff — even though the FIFPro union is calling for cooling breaks starting at 30°C and a postponement from 35.5°C — France had the worst of difficulties destabilizing the South American block. For nearly an hour, the 2018 world champions ran up against a Paraguayan defensive wall inspired by goalkeeper Orlando Gill, already the hero of the win against Germany in the Round of 16.

In the first half, Ousmane Dembélé nearly opened the scoring (39th) with a slightly deflected curling shot that went just wide of the left post, but the real fright came from corners and long-range strikes. Manu Koné tried his luck several times from outside the box: first in the 22nd minute, then in the 55th, his powerful right-footed shot was deflected for a corner by Gill, who produced a magnificent left-handed save.

A locked-down first half

On the Paraguayan side, the plan was clear: densify the central axis, park the bus in front of their box, and use physical aggression to take the French creators out of the match. The side coached by Gustavo Alfaro — who had made three changes from the lineup that beat Germany, including the returns of Omar Alderete (recovered) and Diego Gómez (back from suspension) — executed this scheme perfectly.

Mbappé, closely shadowed by Cáceres, rarely found space. In the 31st minute, a cross from Dembélé just missed him. In the 40th, off a corner, he took a hit as he jumped and his header went well wide to the right. In the 52nd, sent deep by Maignan, he was caught at the very last moment by Cáceres. And at the very end of the match, in stoppage time, his double chance still came up against Gill (90th+7).

The departure of Omar Alderete, forced to give way as early as the 58th minute because of his knee problems, did not particularly weaken the opposing defense. Coach Didier Deschamps responded to the Paraguayan changes — the introductions of José Canale (58th), Gustavo Caballero (61st) — by replacing Barcola with Doué (61st), then Dembélé with Rayan Cherki (84th). Cherki's profile moreover allowed France to gain attacking freshness in the final quarter of an hour.

Criticism rains down on the Uzbek referee

Until the penalty, the score had remained goalless, confirming the historical trend: in their five previous meetings, France had never lost to Paraguay (three wins, two draws). « Paraguay hat alle Register gezogen. Wir haben drei Gelbe Karten bekommen, und die anderen haben endlos gefoult. Dazu habe ich nichts mehr zu sagen », Didier Deschamps fumed after the match.

On the Paraguayan side, Alfaro stood by the style employed: « Unsere Haltung ist es, auf dem Platz wie Löwen zu kämpfen. » His goalkeeper Orlando Gill echoed the same sentiment: « Wenn sie das nicht gewöhnt sind, was soll ich machen ? So ist Paraguay eben — eine harte Mannschaft. » Mbappé himself acknowledged the opponents' intensity: « Sie dachten, dass wir kommen würden, um im Smoking zu spielen. Wir haben es auch so gemacht wie sie. »

There was also a record chase at stake: with this 19th World Cup goal, Mbappé is now just one shy of Lionel Messi (20 goals), and has matched the Argentine player's total in the North American tournament (7 goals apiece). Erling Haaland and Harry Kane are five behind. « Die Jagd auf Lionel Messis Rekord von 20 Treffern ist in vollem Gange », the special correspondents in Philadelphia pointed out.

Tantashev's refereeing drew criticism: France received three yellow cards (Barcola, Koné, ?), while no Paraguayan was booked despite multiple borderline challenges. Zlatan Ibrahimović, a commentator for Fox, did not mince his words: « Ich hätte mich nicht beherrschen können und sicher vier Mal die Rote Karte gekriegt. » Former German referee Patrick Ittrich, on MagentaTV, spoke of « schlechtesten Schirileistung dieser WM ». Rayan Cherki piled on: « Wie viele Fouls gab es, 30, 40 ? »

Mbappé gets back on Messi's trail

Didier Deschamps offered another reading: « Wir können auch dreckig spielen, aber waren trotzdem besser als sie. » Mbappé summed up the philosophy of the evening: « Wenn wir uns die Hände schmutzig machen müssen, dann machen wir uns die Hände schmutzig. Wir wissen, dass sie eine sehr starke Mannschaft sind, und wir werden unser Bestes geben, um unseren Weg fortzusetzen. » A statement that contrasts with the attacking image cultivated in the group stage, when the 2022 World Cup finalist had blasted opposing defenses.

A note on the atmosphere: the match took place on the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. A choir of young boys performed "America the Beautiful" before kickoff, while a flyover of military aircraft and applause set the tone in the stadium. The French coach said he was « umso mehr freut es mich, dass meine Spieler ihre Aufgabe erfüllt haben ». But not everything has been settled yet.

After the final whistle, Mbappé, who had to be calmed down by Deschamps in the locker room according to several witnesses, showed his satisfaction. « Es gibt im Fußball kein Richtig oder Falsch, sondern nur einen Weg: gewinnen », he said. The Uzbek referee, for his part, was sharply criticized for only awarding the penalty after a VAR review, and for never sanctioning Paraguayan aggression.

Onward to Morocco in the quarterfinals

The final picture reflects a tightly contested match: Mbappé, a permanent target (his jersey was the subject of tight man-marking for 90 minutes), only found a way through via a penalty. Gill, already the hero in the penalty shootout against Germany, kept his team in the game until the sanction. Paraguay leaves the tournament after causing a stir by eliminating the Mannschaft in the Round of 16.

Looking ahead to the quarterfinal, France is getting a sense of déjà vu: it is against Morocco, who knocked out Canada 3-0 (0-0) on Saturday evening, that Les Bleus have a date on Thursday in Boston (10:00 p.m. French time), in a repeat of the 2022 semifinal, won 2-0 by the Tricolore team. The North Africans showed in the group stage their solidity against the Netherlands and their attacking mastery against co-host Canada.

Mbappé looked ahead to this meeting: « Wir freuen uns riesig auf dieses Duell, weil wir wissen, wie stark Marokko ist. » Deschamps, for his part, mentioned a striking memory from 2018: « als sie Kylian fast umgebracht haben » in the previous round against Uruguay, to better underscore the need for a renewed defensive commitment. Thursday's match looks set to be the most demanding test since the start of the North American tournament for the 2022 finalists.

The turnaround comes quickly: three days of recovery before taking on a Morocco in full flow, whose 3-0 against Canada confirmed the good impressions from the group stage. For France, the time for approximations is over: after a match where space was lacking, the challenge will be to find it against a Moroccan defense as coordinated as Paraguay's — but this time, with a far greater attacking threat in transition.

In the stands and around the stadium, French and Paraguayan supporters kept the evening going together at