Mbappe penalty sends France past Paraguay into FIFA World Cup quarter-finals

PHILADELPHIA: Kylian Mbappe scored from the penalty spot as France overcame a resilient Paraguay 1-0 in sweltering conditions on Saturday to book their place in the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, where they will face Morocco.

Mbappe converted in the 70th minute after a VAR review awarded France a penalty, securing his side’s place in the last eight and avoiding the kind of upset that saw Germany eliminated by Paraguay and Argentina pushed to the brink by Cape Verde earlier in the knockout stage.

“We knew what kind of match we were going to have,” Mbappe said after the game.

“If we have to get our hands dirty, we can do that. We can play ugly football. They thought we would turn up in tuxedos, but we were there.”

France dominated possession throughout but struggled to break down a disciplined Paraguay side that lined up in a defensive 5-4-1 formation and frustrated the 2022 runners-up for much of the contest.

The French were dealt a blow before kick-off when midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni withdrew with a muscle injury. Manu Kone replaced him alongside Adrien Rabiot in midfield.

With temperatures soaring to 39 degrees Celsius, chances were few and far between in the opening half. Neither side managed a shot on target before the break, although Rabiot, Kone and Ousmane Dembele all came close for France, while Julio Enciso provided Paraguay’s main attacking threat.

France increased the pressure after halftime and finally found the breakthrough when substitute Desire Doue was brought down in the penalty area by Diego Gomez.

Following a VAR review, referee Ilgiz Tantashev pointed to the spot, and Mbappe calmly sent goalkeeper Orlando Gill the wrong way to score his seventh goal of the tournament.

The strike also marked Mbappe’s 19th World Cup goal in as many appearances, moving him level with Lionel Messi’s tally and one behind the Argentine great on the competition’s all-time scoring list.

Paraguay nearly forced a dramatic finish in the closing stages when France goalkeeper Mike Maignan was called into action for the first time in the 90th minute, producing a crucial save to preserve his side’s lead. Mbappe was twice denied by Gill in stoppage time as France held on to secure a hard-fought victory and set up a quarter-final clash with Morocco, a repeat of the teams’ semi-final meeting f