It wasn’t pretty, but the 2026 World Cup favourites march on. Look back on a bruising encounter with our Paraguay vs France stats page.
Kylian Mbappé made it 19 goals in 19 World Cup appearances as his 70th-minute penalty helped France reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Paraguay.
In what was a feisty clash at Philadelphia Stadium where tempers flared on more than one occasion, Mbappé stayed calm under pressure to seal his team’s progression.
And their reward is a reunion with Morocco in the last eight. France beat the Atlas Lions 2-0 in the semi-finals of the World Cup four years ago in Qatar.
Paraguay, as they did against Germany, frustrated France. In fact, it was only the fourth time since 1966 Les Bleus didn’t manage a shot in the first 20 minutes of a World Cup match, though Manu Koné’s deflected shot off Diego Gómez almost nestled in the bottom-left corner a few moments later.
Mbappé was then inches away from getting on the end of Ousmane Dembélé‘s teasing delivery before Adrien Rabiot fired way over Orlando Gill’s crossbar from distance.
It was only the third World Cup knockout game since 1966 to not have a single shot on target in the first half, though another stinging shot from Koné in the 54th minute forced Gill into action for the first time.
Didier Deschamps turned to his bench and introduced Désiré Doué for Dembele, and he made an instant impact after he was tripped in the penalty area by Gómez. Referee Ilgiz Tantashev pointed to the spot after being sent to the pitchside monitor for a VAR review.
Paraguay, as they had done for much of the game, attempted to delay the restart and put Mbappé off, but the France captain remained unfazed and sent Gill the wrong way from 12 yards to net his 11th knockout goal at the World Cup, three more than any other player in the history of the competition.
Mike Maignan had to be on his toes at the other end to thwart Mauricio late on, while a brilliant double save from Gill denied Mbappé twice in quick succession as France held on for the 10 minutes of stoppage time.
Captain Mbappé the Man for the Big Occasion Again in World Cup Knockouts
Many expected France to continue showcasing their World Cup credentials by breezing past giant-killing Paraguay. Deschamps’ side did not have things all their own way here, but they were able to keep their heads in a game their opponents intended to make ugly.
And it was always likely Mbappé would ultimately have the last laugh, as he continued to challenge Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race by going level on seven goals with the Argentina captain at this year’s tournament.
On the day he captained France for the 10th time at a major tournament, becoming the fourth player to do so, Mbappé scored France’s 150th World Cup goal, with only Brazil (246), Germany (243) and Argentina (163) managing more in the competition’s history.
Since the 2018 World Cup, Mbappé’s 19 goals is four more than any other player at the tournament, while his 11 goals in the knockout stages of the competition in that time is more than Brazil and England (both 10).
But his match-winning moment owed a lot to the good work from Doué. The Paris Saint-Germain forward is the second substitute to win a penalty for France in a World Cup match after with Randal Kolo Muani in the 2022 final versus Argentina.
And France were deserving victors here. Paraguay’s obdurate defending deserves praise, but their antics arguably overshadowed that and left a sour taste, especially given none of their players were shown a yellow card, remarkably.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Paraguay vs France stats from their 2026 FIFA World Cup last-16 meeting in Philadelphia on 4 July.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Paraguay vs France: Post-Match Opta Facts
Today against France, Paraguay didn’t pick up a single card in a World Cup match for the first time since 1998 against Nigeria.
France’s Kylian Mbappé scored his 19th FIFA World Cup goal, only Lionel Messi (20) has scored more, while he netted his 11th knockout stage goal, at least three more than any other player in the competition’s history.
Paraguay completed just 54% of their passes (99/183), the lowest passing accuracy in a FIFA World Cup knockout match on record (since 1966).
This was France’s eighth FIFA World Cup victory against a South American team, only Brazil (10) and Germany (15) have won more matches in the competition against CONMEBOL sides.
France are through to their ninth FIFA World Cup quarter-final, only Brazil (15), Germany (14) and England (10) have reached this round more often.
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