France reached the World Cup quarterfinals with a narrow 1-0 win over Paraguay in Philadelphia, a match settled by a Kylian Mbappe penalty and defined by Paraguay's determination to make life as difficult as possible for the defending champions.
One moment decides it
For much of the game Paraguay sat deep, packed the midfield and disrupted France's rhythm with physical, tactical fouling. The breakthrough came in the 70th minute, when a video review led the referee to award a penalty after substitute Desire Doue was brought down in the box. Mbappe stepped up and converted, ESPN reported, for his seventh goal of the tournament.
Paraguay offered little going forward, and France, without ever finding their fluent best, saw the game out to reach the last eight.
Mbappe: "We know how to play ugly football"
Afterward, Mbappe pushed back on the idea that France had been unsettled by Paraguay's approach. "We can also get our hands dirty, we know how to do it. We know how to play ugly football," he said, according to ESPN, adding that opponents who expected France "to show up in tuxedos" would find them ready for a scrap. His comments framed the win as a test of temperament as much as talent.
A heavyweight quarterfinal
The result sets up a quarterfinal against Morocco in Boston, reviving a fixture from the 2022 tournament in Qatar, where France won their semifinal 2-0 before losing the final to Argentina. Morocco reached this year's last eight by beating co-hosts Canada 3-0, and the meeting pits the defending champions against the side that four years ago became the first from Africa and the Arab world to reach a World Cup semifinal.
For France, the manner of the Paraguay win mattered less than the outcome. Defending a title requires grinding through nights like this, and Mbappe's penalty kept a well-fancied France on course while carrying the team's attacking burden into a demanding quarterfinal.
