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Mbappe now takes his tally to 19 in 19 tournaments on the all-time World Cup goalscoring list.
Incredibly, since 2018, Mbappe has scored more goals in the World Cup knockout stages than Brazil (10), England (10), Portugal (9) and Spain (4).
It looked like a disappointing game for France and their captain as they failed to register an effort on target in the first half.
The heat took its toll, with the game going down as one of the hottest World Cup matches ever. The National Weather Service official page recorded the kick-off temperature at 38.3C.
The record for a World Cup game was 43C when the Republic of Ireland played Mexico in Florida in 1994.
Yet France still found a way to beat the heat – and Paraguay’s rough tactics.
“We know how to play ugly football,” Mbappe said afterwards.
“They (Paraguay) thought we would show up in tuxedos, but we were ready. Even in that match we were better than them.
“That’s their style of football – there’s no right or wrong way to play the game. They tried to beat us that way, but we won.”
Deschamps, who is now the first coach to secure 10 World Cup knockout wins, revealed he instructed his players to protect Mbappe in the closing stages as Paraguay looked to claw their way back into the game.
“I told the two oldest boys to go and stand around Kylian because they were going to cut him,” Deschamps added.
“It wasn’t easy. They used every trick in the book. It’s not football that will bring people to the stadium, but they defended well. It’s always difficult against these South American teams.”
Mbappe was targeted from the start but he remained calm and reacted to Paraguay’s provocations by mocking their tactics on the pitch.
“I like how Mbappe behaved in this game,” Hart added.
“The Paraguayan players came for him from the first minute. When he was laughing at the players, he was allowed to be arrogant.
“I never want to play football like that. The referee didn’t help at all. It’s amazing that not one of the Paraguayans was booked in 90 minutes.”
Former Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger told BBC One that he had “no respect” for Paraguay’s behaviour.
“If you’re Paraguayan, you probably like the team – they’re like fighters,” he added.
“If you’re French or neutral, you have no respect for them anymore. It’s not only insulting, it’s worse.”
