Paraguay 0-1 France: Kylian Mbappé is back at the top of the World Cup scoring list alongside Lionel Messi after converting a second-half penalty to take France into the last 16.
Kylian Mbappe (Image: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
Their performance in this World Cup was truly amazing. However, red-hot France narrowly defeated Paraguay in the sweltering heat of Philadelphia thanks to another goal from Kylian Mbappé.
In terms of cutting edge, no attack is as sharp as France’s, and Didier Deschamps’ side have emerged as one of the favorites for overwhelming glory, along with conquerors Argentina four years ago.
France’s performance has been spectacular, starting their Round of 16 encounter with at least three goals in each of their previous games.
Given that Paraguay stunned Germany and squashed any chance of a clash between the giants in Philadelphia, they could probably be forgiven for thinking they were handed a more lucrative offer. Perhaps the goals will continue to flow.
But that turned out to be no big deal, as both the goal and Paraguay’s head deflated in the heat.
Praised for their approach against Germany, Paraguay went from heroes to villains with their aggressive and unapologetic approach to unsettling France, but regardless of their actual performance, they deserve credit for keeping their cool. In the end, it only tarnishes Paraguay’s memory of this tournament, which is a shame considering how they handled against Germany.
Paraguay gave themselves the chance for another upset by holding off France’s superstars in a frenetic first half, limiting Mbappé, Michael Oliseh and Ko to an xG of just 0.15.
And while they didn’t exactly surround Mike Maignan in the French goal, they did enough to keep a much more attractive opponent on their toes.
Paraguay tried to make Mbappe and others anxious and bully them, but to no avail.
France took the lead after the break when Ousmane Dembele slotted a smooth shot into the side netting from an acute angle and a corner kick was immediately taken, with Orlando Gil making a superb save to deny Manu Corn.
It was Desiree Douet who brought the situation under control with a sublime run into the penalty area, wriggling her red and white shirt, before being brought down by Diego Gomez. It was the decisive moment of the match. Mbappe scored the rest from 12 yards, stuttering and sending Gil the wrong way to set up Lionel Messi and the Golden Boot.
Both have scored seven goals each, one short of the tally that won Mbappé the same award in Qatar four years ago. With so many games ahead of them, both sides will be looking for more opportunities to snatch more, and it was only a top-class double save from Gil that prevented the Real Madrid striker from adding to the score in stoppage time.
The Paraguayan players, as they had throughout the match, were tense after the goal as Mbappé came under heavy attack and tried to force his opponent into submission.
Most were missed or overruled by referee Ilgiz Tantashev, who did not enjoy his best moments and barely defended Mbappe, although he appeared to be targeted by Paraguayan players looking to provoke Mbappe in the final moments. The fact that France had three yellow cards and Paraguay none shows exactly how poor Tantashev was.
There was a brief temper tantrum at the final whistle, but it was Mbappé and France who had the last laugh, both figuratively and literally.
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