Mbappé Criticizes Paraguay's Approach: 'They Didn't Want to Play Football'
France advanced to the quarterfinals after a tough 1-0 win over Paraguay, with Kylian Mbappé scoring a penalty and later criticizing the opponent for not wanting to play football.
In the World Cup round of 16, France defeated Paraguay 1-0 in a physical match played in nearly 38°C heat. Kylian Mbappé converted a penalty in the 70th minute, scoring his seventh goal of the tournament and 19th in World Cup history.
After the game, Mbappé expressed frustration with Paraguay's style. "They didn't want to play football at all," he said. "We knew what kind of game awaited us. We also know how to play dirty, how to play ugly football. They probably thought we would come out in tuxedos, but no – we were ready."
France has won all five matches so far, beating Norway, Senegal, and Iraq in the group stage, Sweden in the round of 32, and now Paraguay. Paraguay had previously eliminated Germany. In the quarterfinals, France will face Morocco, who eliminated host nation Canada.
