France Advances to World Cup Quarterfinals After 1:0 Win Over Paraguay

Thousands of fans had gathered hours before kickoff in the parking lots around the stadium for so-called tailgating. Paper clappers in red, white, and blue, officially distributed to spectators, were mostly used as fans or makeshift sun protection due to the heat. Inside the stadium, Broadway star Idina Menzel sang the U.S. national anthem on a star-shaped stage, a boys' choir performed "America the Beautiful," and U.S. military fighter jets flew over the stadium – the match coincided with the 250th Independence Day of the United States.

First Half: Chances Without Reward

Sportingly, the match started cautiously. In the 22nd minute, Manu Koné, who replaced the injured Aurélien Tchouaméni in the starting lineup, registered the first noteworthy opportunity for the French with a long-range shot. In the 31st minute, Kylian Mbappé narrowly missed a precise cross from Ousmane Dembélé, before firing a shot centimeters wide of the goal in the 39th minute. Seconds earlier, Paraguay's Matías Galárza had struck Mbappé on the shoulder in a challenge away from the ball – the video assistant did not intervene.

At the latest with the restart of the second half, it became clear that the South Americans wanted to continue their physical style from the tournament. Paraguay had already eliminated Germany in the competition so far and was considered an uncomfortable, physically imposing opponent. "Unsere Haltung ist es, auf dem Platz wie Löwen zu kämpfen," Paraguay's coach Gustavo Alfaro had announced. The players followed this game plan: they pushed, slid in, and provoked, without referee Ilgiz Tantashev from Uzbekistan intervening. France received three yellow cards after an hour of play, while the Paraguayan team went without any bookings.

The Penalty and the Outrageous Scene

In the 60th minute, France coach Didier Deschamps brought on Désiré Doué, and five minutes later, the substituted attacking player was fouled in the penalty area by Diego Gómez. After a video assistant intervention, Tantashev awarded a penalty kick to France. Before the kick was taken, a scene unfolded that MagentaTV presenter Jan Henkel described as "Widerlich, regt mich tierisch auf": several Paraguayans had tried to damage the penalty spot, with Gustavo Velázquez repeatedly stepping on the spot where the ball should have been placed.

Kylian Mbappé stepped up, gave Paraguay's goalkeeper no chance, and converted low into the bottom right corner in the 70th minute. It was already his seventh goal of the tournament and his 19th World Cup goal overall – drawing him level with Lionel Messi on the all-time World Cup scoring list, who stands at 20 goals. In the 22nd minute of stoppage time, Mbappé subsequently missed a promising double chance, but in the end it remained a narrow 1:0 for France.

Voices After the Final Whistle

Mbappé was unusually combative after the final whistle: "Wir haben gezeigt, dass wir nicht nur offensiven Fußball spielen können. Jede Mannschaft setzt auf ihre eigenen Stärken. Es gibt keinen richtigen oder falschen Stil, entscheidend ist nur, dass man gewinnt." Elsewhere he said: "Wenn wir uns die Hände schmutzig machen müssen, dann machen wir uns die Hände schmutzig. Ich habe kein Problem damit." To the Argentine edition of a broadcaster, he added: "Sie wollten nur kämpfen. Wir können auch dreckig spielen, aber waren trotzdem besser als sie."

France coach Didier Deschamps openly addressed the rough play: "Paraguay hat alle Register gezogen. Vielleicht ist das nicht die Art von Fußball, die die Zuschauer am liebsten sehen, aber wir sind konzentriert geblieben. Gegen südamerikanische Mannschaften ist es immer schwierig. Umso mehr freut es mich, dass meine Spieler ihre Aufgabe erfüllt haben." He also said: "Jede Mannschaft spielt so, wie sie es für richtig hält, wobei ich auf einige Beleidigungen der Gegenseite hätte verzichten können" and "Wir haben drei Gelbe Karten bekommen und die anderen haben endlos gefoult."

Criticism of the Referee

France's Rayan Cherki criticized the referee's lenient approach: "Wie viele Fouls gab es, 30, 40? Wie viele Gelbe Karten gab es? Dazu habe ich nichts mehr zu sagen." Former Bundesliga referee Patrick Ittrich, now working as a refereeing expert for MagentaTV, also did not spare Tantashev: his performance was "the worst performance at this World Cup." Ittrich said the official had not had the match under control, either in his assessment of challenges or in disciplinary matters. That Paraguay had stayed without a yellow card he called "unfassbar." For the strike by Galarza against Mbappé in the 39th minute, Ittrich personally would have shown a red card.

In the parallel match, Morocco had earlier defeated co-host Canada 3:0 and thus secured its ticket to the quarterfinals. This means that on Thursday (10:00 PM) in Boston, there will be a repeat of the 2022 World Cup semifinal, which France had won 2:0. Mbappé looked ahead: "Wir freuen uns riesig auf dieses Duell, weil wir wissen, wie stark Marokko ist."

Outlook on Morocco

Mbappé is also personally chasing a historic record at this stage of the tournament: Lionel Messi leads the all-time World Cup scoring list with 20 goals, Mbappé now stands at 19. It was also France's fourth consecutive World Cup quarterfinal – evidence of the Équipe Tricolore's consistency at major tournaments.

Off the pitch, the heat also made headlines: in Washington D.C., a speech planned for the evening of July 4 by U.S. President Donald Trump had to be postponed due to an approaching thunderstorm. In Philadelphia, the storm also affected parts of the fan presence. The band The Roots, founded in Philadelphia, performed after the match, while French and Paraguayan supporters gathered together in the evening at McGillin's Olde Ale House in the city center.

Off the Pitch

A French fan named Frédéric told reporters that he would travel to Boston together with his Paraguayan friend: "Wir fahren zusammen nach Boston zum nächsten Spiel." A Paraguayan supporter also met the French with a wink: "Wir haben es euch so schwer gemacht." On social networks, creative heat tricks drew attention: a female fan named Jen used a neck-fan model as her accessory of the day, and a fan named Ryan wrapped a wet U.S. flag around his body to cool down.

The fact that the national colors of Paraguay and France – red, white, and blue – happen to match those of the United States gave the unusual setting of the match on Independence Day an additional symbolic note. Looking ahead to the upcoming quarterfinal against Morocco, France must above all keep an eye on its personnel situation in midfield: in addition to the injured Tchouaméni, further players dropped out with minor injuries in the Round of 16, two Paraguayan substitutions had been injury-related.

Mbappé himself, as the sports press wrote the following day, could well have seen a yellow card himself in some scenes. The overall picture of the match therefore remains ambivalent: sportingly a deserved, if narrow, success for the French; atmospherically and in terms of officiating, one of the most turbulent matches of the tournament. On Thursday in Boston, Morocco awaits – the first African semifinalist at a football World Cup – an assignment that, in Mbappé's words, "alles andere als ein Selbstläufer" is likely to be.