France became the second nation to make it to the quarterfinals of the World Cup as they earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Paraguay in Philadelphia.
Kylian Mbappé scored the only goal of a bad-tempered game from the penalty spot after Desire Doue was brought down by Diego Gomez.
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Saturday’s game came after Didier Deschamps’ side breezed through Group I with a 3-1 win over Senegal, a 3-0 win over Iraq and a 4-1 victory over a much-changed Norway side to top the group.
Les Bleus looked just as convincing in the round of 32, brushing aside Sweden thanks to a brace from Mbappe either side of Bradley Barcola‘s strike.
Mbappe’s double has him second in the Golden Boot standings with six goals from four games. He is currently one behind Lionel Messi — after the 39-year-old’s opener in Argentina‘s thrilling 3-2 win over Cape Verde — and one ahead of England‘s Harry Kane and Norway’s Erling Haaland.
Paraguay, meanwhile, sneaked through from Group D as one of the eight best third-placed sides. Their World Cup got off to a dreadful start when they lost 4-1 to the United States to kick off their tournament, but an impressive win 1-0 against Türkiye followed despite Miguel Almirón being sent off in first-half stoppage time for covering his mouth while talking to Murt Muldur.
A 0-0 draw against Australia in their final group game was enough to take Paraguay through to the round of 32, where they shocked the world by knocking out Germany. But France would prove a bridge too far for the South American side.
