Mbappe penalty sends Paraguay out, France into quarter-finals

JAKARTA - France will have to work hard against Paraguay who defend more in the 2026 World Cup 16th round match. Captain Kylian Mbappe's goal from the penalty spot finally brought France to a 1-0 victory to qualify for the quarter finals in a duel at the Lincoln Financial Field Stadium, Philadelphia, Sunday, July 5, 2026 early morning WIB.

France completely locked down Paraguay's defense in a match held in conjunction with the 250th anniversary of the United States' independence as one of the hosts of the World Cup. The match itself went one way because Paraguay defended more. Even coach Gustavo Alfaro even put 10 players, not including the goalkeeper, in the defensive area when France put pressure. Practically none of the Paraguay players were in front to receive the counterattack.

The total defense strategy made no one of the Paraguayan players shoot into the goal. On the other hand, Les Bleus completely dominated. However, their attacks always ended up in the Paraguayan defense line, which hoped the match could end with a penalty shootout.

In that match, Alfaro put five defenders to prevent the French attack. The strategy was more difficult for France because it was also added by the Paraguayan player who was pulled to strengthen the back line when the opponent attacked.

As a result, the French players who appeared offensive by relying on Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola who supported Mbappe as a centre forward. Even Mbappe was frustrated facing a more defensive opponent. The Real Madrid star even had a fight with midfielder Andres Cubas.

When it was difficult to penetrate the Paraguay defense, they finally released a long shot to score a goal. But this strategy also did not bear fruit.

In the second half, France had a chance through Manu Kone. Only his shot was still wide because it hit the Paraguayan player. Likewise, a good opportunity from Didier Deschamps' team could still be stopped by goalkeeper Orlando Gill.

After many attacks always failed, Deschamps then pulled out Barcola and inserted Desire Doue. The strategy was quite successful because the French attack became more alive.

Even Doue's daring action of penetrating the penalty box, which was then brought down by Diego Gomez in the 70th minute. A very clear foul, but the Paraguayan player pressed referee Tantashev that it was just a dive from Doue.

The referee from Uzbekistan then reviewed the incident via VAR. The result further confirmed that Gomez had tripped Doue so he pointed to the white line. Alfaro's coach also did not accept the referee's decision and made a diving move.

However, Tantashev did not care and asked the French player to execute. Dembele who was holding the ball was provoked by the Paraguayan player and goalkeeper Gill. After the referee asked the Paraguayan player to step aside, Dembele then gave the ball to Mbappe.

Dembele's decision surprised the Paraguayans as they failed to provoke the Paris Saint-Germain player. Instead, no one provoked Mbappe so that he remained calm even though he was a little tense when executing the penalty.

The result, Mbappe's kick successfully fooled Gill. In a position of being 1-0 behind, Paraguay tried to rise. But their attack was meaningless against France's solid defense.

The score held until the end of the match. France advanced to the quarter-finals to meet Morocco, who won 3-0 over Canada, one of the World Cup hosts.