The French national team secured its place in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup after a hard-fought victory over Paraguay, courtesy of a late decisive goal. With the match settled by "Les Bleus" in the final moments, they set up a highly anticipated showdown with the Moroccan national team, who reached the same round following their victory over Canada.
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Captain Kylian Mbappé scored the match's only goal from a penalty kick (70'), raising his tournament tally to seven goals to share the top scorer spot with Argentina's Lionel Messi. He also narrowed the gap with Messi on the list of all-time World Cup top scorers (20 to 19).
"We knew what kind of match we were going to play," Mbappé said. "If we have to play rough, we can do that. We can play ugly football. They thought we would turn up in tuxedos, but we were there."
He added: "Even in that match, we were better than them. That is their way of playing football. There is no right or wrong way to play. They tried to beat us that way, but we won."
Despite Aurélien Tchouaméni's late withdrawal due to a muscle injury, France appeared ready for battle, dominating possession for most of the match before turning their frustration into an attacking surge after the break. This sets up a rematch with Morocco, repeating their semi-final clash from four years ago.
Paraguay had hoped to avenge their round-of-16 defeat against France in the 1998 World Cup, when Laurent Blanc settled the match with a golden goal for the team that eventually won the title, but their limited defensive approach fell short once again.
France made one change to the lineup that beat Sweden 3-0, with Manu Koné replacing the injured Tchouaméni alongside Adrien Rabiot in midfield, while Paraguay adopted a defensive 5-4-1 formation.
With temperatures reaching 39°C, France struggled to create clear-cut chances against a Paraguay side that defended with resilience and discipline.
Neither team managed a single shot on target before the break, as Rabiot, Koné, and Ousmane Dembélé tried their luck to no avail, while Julio Enciso posed the only threat for Paraguay.
For France, the match became a test of patience, but they continued to press after the interval and finally broke the deadlock when substitute Désiré Doué, who replaced Bradley Barcola, was tripped inside the penalty area by Diego Gómez.
Following a VAR review, the referee awarded a penalty, which Mbappé calmly converted in the 70th minute, sending goalkeeper Orlando Gill the wrong way to score his seventh goal of the tournament, matching Lionel Messi's tally and trailing just one goal behind the Argentine star in all-time World Cup scoring.
Anxiety crept into the French side during Mike Maignan's first real test in the 90th minute, as Paraguay, who kept the pressure on until the final whistle, sought to push the game toward a chaotic finish.
France's struggles continued into stoppage time when Gill denied two consecutive attempts from Mbappé, leaving the team to seal their qualification the hard way.
