Mbappé Penalty Sends France Past Stubborn Paraguay in Philadelphia Heat
Match statistics
View knockout bracket →- Kylian Mbappé 70'(pen)
- Bradley Barcola 19'
- Manu Koné 81'
- Michael Olise 90+7'
HT 0–0|Poss 24–76%|Shots 5–15|SOT 1–5
Sat, Jul 4, 2026 • 17:00 (Philadelphia local)
Philadelphia Stadium (Lincoln Financial Field) — Philadelphia
France beat Paraguay 1–0 at Philadelphia Stadium to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the fourth straight edition. Kylian Mbappé drilled a 70th-minute penalty past Orlando Gill after VAR overturned the initial decision when Diego Gómez tripped substitute Désiré Doué, netting his 19th World Cup goal in as many appearances and moving level with Lionel Messi on seven at this tournament.
Paraguay, fresh from eliminating Germany on penalties, held Les Bleus to a goalless first half in 39-degree heat and finished with just one shot on target from five attempts. France dominated with 76% possession, 15 shots and five on target but needed Mbappé's composure to break the deadlock in front of 68,324 fans. Bradley Barcola, Manu Koné and Michael Olise were booked as tempers flared in the closing stages.
France advance to face Morocco in Boston on Thursday — a rematch of the 2022 semi-final the Atlas Lions lost 2–0. Paraguay bow out after another giant-killing run, having reached the last 16 for the first time since 2010 without picking up a single yellow card in a World Cup match for the first time since 1998 against Nigeria.