France overcome Paraguay's 'disgraceful' and 'embarrassing' dark arts
France beat Paraguay 1-0 in a bad-tempered World Cup last-16 match, with Paraguay using rough tactics and avoiding any bookings. Kylian Mbappe scored a penalty to level with Lionel Messi as top scorer.
France secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the World Cup last-16 in Philadelphia, overcoming extreme heat and aggressive tactics from their opponents. Paraguay, who had shocked Germany on penalties in the previous round, employed tough and often dirty methods that drew widespread condemnation.
Several fouls went unpunished: Andres Cubas clattered into Adrien Rabiot, Juan Jose Caceres kicked out at Kylian Mbappe, and Gabriel Avalos elbowed Dayot Upamecano in the stomach. Astonishingly, not a single Paraguay player received a yellow card, while three French players were booked. Referee Ilgiz Tantashev was heavily criticized for his weak officiating.
The decisive moment came with 20 minutes left when Diego Gomez brought down Desire Doue in the box. After a VAR review, Tantashev awarded a penalty, which Mbappe converted for his seventh goal of the tournament, tying him with Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot lead.
France manager Didier Deschamps said: "It wasn't easy. They use every trick in the book. It's not the kind of football that will bring people to the stadium, but they defended well." Mbappe added: "We know how to play ugly football. They thought we'd show up in tuxedos, but we were ready. Even in that game, we were better than them."
Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart called Paraguay's players "an absolute disgrace," while ex-Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger said he had "no respect" for their behavior, calling it "worse than disgraceful." Pat Nevin noted "every single dark art you can use."
France players William Saliba and Rayan Cherki said the team had studied Paraguay's tactics and were prepared for the provocation. Saliba noted: "We had to stay focused because if we started wasting energy and getting into arguments, things wouldn't go well."
The match was one of the hottest in World Cup history, with kick-off temperature at 38.3°C. France had no shots on target in the first half but found a way to win. They will face Morocco in the quarter-finals on Thursday.
