PHILADELPHIA, July 4 (Reuters) – Kylian Mbappe converted a second-half penalty as France sweated through a suffocating Philadelphia furnace and wrestled their way out of a brutal scrap with Paraguay to snatch a 1-0 win on Saturday, setting up a World Cup quarter-final against Morocco.
Mbappe’s 19th World Cup goal in as many appearances ensured there would be no repeat of Paraguay’s shock elimination of four-time champions Germany — or Cape Verde’s near-miracle against Argentina the previous day — as France survived a contest their opponents repeatedly dragged into murky waters.
“We knew what kind of match we were going to have. If we have to get our hands dirty, we can do that. We can play ugly football. They thought we would turn up in tuxedos, but we were there,” said Mbappe.
“Even at that game, we were better than them. That’s their football — there is no right or wrong way to play the game. They tried to get at us that way, but we won.”
Despite Aurelien Tchouameni’s last-gasp withdrawal with a muscle injury, France looked prepared for the scrap, dominating the ball before turning frustration into urgency after the break to set up a repeat of their semi-final against Morocco four years ago.
Paraguay had hoped to avenge their 1998 last-16 defeat by eventual champions France, settled by Laurent Blanc’s golden goal, but their minimalist approach was again left unrewarded.
France made one change from the side who beat Sweden 3-0, with Manu Kone replacing the injured Tchouameni alongside Adrien Rabiot in midfield, while Paraguay set up in a defensive 5-4-1.
With temperatures reaching 39 degrees Celsius (102.2°F), France found clear openings hard to come by against a Paraguay side who defended ruggedly.
Neither side managed a shot on target before the break, with Rabiot, Kone and Ousmane Dembele all trying their luck without reward, while Julio Enciso offered Paraguay’s lone threat at the other end.
For France, it was turning into a test of patience, but they pressed on after the interval and finally broke through when substitute Desire Doue, on for Bradley Barcola, was tripped in the box by Diego Gomez.
After a VAR review, referee Ilgiz Tantashev awarded the penalty and Mbappe coolly converted in the 70th minute, wrongfooting Orlando Gill for his seventh goal of the tournament, putting him level with Lionel Messi and one behind the Argentine talisman in the all-time list.
Nerves crept in when Mike Maignan was finally called into action in the 90th minute, making his first save of the game as Paraguay, provocative until the end and hunting for fouls around the box, tried to turn the final minutes into chaos.
France then faced another sweaty spell in stoppage time after Mbappe was denied twice in quick succession by Gill, leaving Les Bleus to close out the win the hard way.
(Writing by Julien Pretot in New YorkEditing by Christian Radnedge)
