PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kylian Mbappé laughed, smiled and, of course, scored as Paraguay tried to provoke a fight by calling him and his French teammates foul. That’s because hot-headedness was a recurring theme in one of the most heated World Cup matches on record.
After the final whistle blows, Mbappe kept walking It left Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gil hanging, and Gil, in a show of sportsmanship, held out his right hand.
In response, Gil played the ball to Mbappé’s number 10.
Mbappe has the last laugh as he scores his 19th career goal world cup With the goal, France overcame stifling heat to beat Paraguay 1-0 on Saturday, sealing Les Bleus a place in the quarter-finals for the fourth consecutive year.
“We knew what kind of game it would be,” Mbappé said in French. “We can get our hands dirty and we know how to do it. We know how to play ugly football. They probably expected us to show up in tuxedos, but we were ready.”
France advanced to face Morocco on Thursday in Foxboro, Massachusetts. France defeated Morocco 2-0 in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Temperatures hovered around 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), and a heat warning was in effect during the game, but Mbappé finally broke through against a physical, defensive-minded Paraguay team. he scored a penalty kick At 70 minutes.
That was enough for Les Bleus, whose fans dressed in red, white and blue on the Fourth of July looked patriotic enough in the city where the United States was founded exactly 250 years ago.
After a video review, Mbappe was awarded a penalty for a trip caused by Diego Gomez. Then he stuttering feet He is on his way to his 19th goal in 19 World Cup appearances, one goal behind career record holder Lionel Messi. Mbappe and Messi are at the top of the Golden Boot race with seven goals each in this tournament.
Mbappé won the award four years ago, but Messi and Argentina beat France in the final.
Mbappe, who frequently abused Paraguayans in Spanish, is now the only player to have scored at least three goals in three World Cup finals.
Mbappe failed to break through in the second half, while Manu Kone had his top corner shot deflected away by Gil after being netted by Ousmane Dembele moments earlier.
Gil stopped Mbappe’s powerful attempts twice in additional time of the second half.
Gil, 26, defeated German great Manuel Neuer on penalties in the previous match. Then, after the loss against France, he lost his cool by chucking the ball to Mbappé.
“I tried to shake his hand and he didn’t pay attention to me, so I felt angry,” Gill said. “That’s all I did anyway. After that it calmed down.”
In response to the criticism that hydration break Even though they slowed down the pace of play at the World Cup, the players have never needed them more than during a devastating heat wave. During intermission and halftime, sprinklers rained down on Kentucky’s bluegrass field.
France coach Didier Deschamps said, “Given our style of play, it was difficult to give them a high intensity.”
More spectators fled to the concourse at halftime for shade and shelter from the sun than in any of the other five World Cup games played in front of more than 68,000 fans at Lincoln Financial Field.
Perhaps they were looking for some action.
Les Bleus scored 13 goals in the first five games of the tournament, but were thwarted in the first half by a Paraguayan team looking to make the game a hard-fought affair. Tensions escalated when Andres Cubas brought down Mbappé, with both teams briefly squaring off. Matias Galarza also threw his right elbow at Mbappe, sending him crashing to the grass.
Paraguay advanced on Monday by defeating Germany in a penalty shootout in the biggest upset of the World Cup. But after La Albirroja’s painstaking efforts, it is France who are moving forward.
After defeating Croatia 2018 titleFrance lost to Argentina in a penalty shootout. 2022 finals. Les Bleus outscored their opponents 14-2 in this tournament, giving them a 5-0 record.
“As I said to the players, we’ve had some easy games so far, so it’s good to have some tough games,” Deschamps said.
The city was soaking in the moment as it celebrated the 250th anniversary of American independence. More fans than any other game in Philadelphia celebrated America, wearing flags and Uncle Sam hats and tailgating in the parking lot, with performances by Idina Menzel, The Roots and DJ Jazzy Jeff.
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