Mbappe matches Messi as France beats Paraguay to set up Morocco tie | World Cup 2026 news

France needed a second penalty from Kylian Mbappe to break through against a dry Paraguay team, winning 1-0 in the World Cup final 1-0 to set up a quarter-final against Morocco.

Paraguay’s bid to get under the skin of the French champions took over a third of the match played in front of 68,324 fans in Philadelphia in a sweltering atmosphere on Saturday.

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However, the quality of the French team was evident, as Mbappe converted from the spot in the 70th minute after Desire Doue was brought down.

This was not the attacking French side that they had been in their previous games, but Paraguay did not allow them to play that way.

It was a mixed bag, however, with Les Bleus having almost all of the ball and Paraguay not being able to get a shot on target until the 90th minute.

Mbappe’s international streak on a personal level continued as he rejoined Lionel Messi as the competition’s top scorer with seven goals.

The Real Madrid player now has 19 goals at the World Cup – from 19 games – meaning he is just one behind Messi’s record total of 20.

Didier Deschamps’ team will now return to their base in Boston to prepare for the last eight clash in Foxborough next Thursday against the Moroccans, who beat Canada 3-0 earlier.

It was a very hot day in Philadelphia, with a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) and severe weather warnings like a hurricane.

France’s last visit to the Lincoln Financial Field, during the group, was affected by a storm, as rain and thunder caused a two-hour delay when they defeated Iraq 3-0.

This time there were no interruptions in the game that was played on the 250th anniversary of US independence, and in the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.

A pre-game concert at the stadium featured the US National Anthem by actress Idina Menzel, a song by hip-hop group The Roots, and a US Air Force flyover.

The display of fireworks in the city to mark the 4th of July was not to be done until later, and the French pyrotechnics expected at the site were kept for a long time by the Paraguayans.

Ranked 41st in the world, Paraguay eliminated Germany on penalties in the last round and will be looking to claim another big scalp here.

He played with five at the back, defending with a small block, and was more than happy to have some South American ideas and a taunting approach at times.

This caused Mbappe to become frustrated when he participated in a training session with Andres Cubas. Moments later, Matias Galarza yelled at the French captain for the ball.

France had all the ball but struggled to get anything going, only shooting from distance.

Manu Kone had one effort deflected inside the first half and another was converted by Orlando Gill shortly after the restart.

Paraguay’s attempts to frustrate France were working, but magic would only take them so far.

As Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele struggled to change the game, Deschamps opted to remove Bradley Barcola and replace Doue on the left side.

This was just over an hour later, and Doue acted quickly.

When he tried to get through the sea of ​​Paraguayan defenders, he met Diego Gomez. The foul was obvious, and the Uzbek referee pointed out where it was under review.

Dembele defended the position that the Paraguayan players tried to dry up. Then Mbappe stepped forward and scored.

After winning on penalties in the last round, Paraguay’s resistance was broken by one this time.

It wasn’t the typical French performance, but Mbappe almost scored again in stoppage time, and they will take another step towards their goal.

In 1998, they needed a golden goal to defeat Paraguay at the same stage of the competition. And they went on to win that World Cup.