FIFA World Cup

Round of 16

PAR Paraguay Paraguay - FRA France France

Paraguay Paraguay

France France

70'
K. Mbappé

Philadelphia Stadium(Sold out)

Ilgiz Tantashev

Full-time: Paraguay 0-1 France

France win a tempestuous game of football which won't live too long in the memory. With chances few and far between, it was Mbappé's 70th-minute penalty - his seventh goal of the tournament so far - that separated the two sides. France march on to the quarter-finals, where they will face Morocco for the second World Cup finals in a row.

End of second half

Full-time

90'

+ 8

Excellent double save!

Mbappé works a shooting opportunity inside the Paraguay area and pulls the trigger. Gill makes a fine instinctive stop, and gets up straight away to save another effort from the Frenchman on the rebound. Somehow, the ball stays out, and Mbappé remains level with Messi on seven World Cup goals.

90'

+ 7

Late yellow card for Olise

The Bayern man pushes Galarza to the ground out of sheer frustration and is promptly booked.

90'

+ 7

Yellow card

Michael Olise

90'

+ 4

Koundé struck

Galarza once again avoids a booking despite appearing to strike the Barcelona defender in the face. Right after, Maignan very nearly gifts a goal to Paraguay after dropping the ball.

90'

+ 2

Stoppage time

10 minutes have been added on by the fourth official. Paraguay still have plenty of time to find a goal.

89'

Maignan makes a save

Maurício is found in space just outside the French penalty area. He swivels beautifully and shoots, but Maignan gets down nicely to his right and holds onto the ball.

87'

Wide from Alonso

A bouncing loose ball falls to Alonso, who tries a driving shot from range. However, the Paraguay full-back snatches at the effort, which flashes well wide of Maignan's left post.

85'

Cherki gets a runout

The Manchester City livewire replaces Dembélé for the final few minutes of play.

84'

Game opens up

Suddenly, there are big gaps opening up in the middle of the pitch as Paraguay commit more men forward. Olise has space to gallop into, but Cubas does well to win the ball off him and blunt the French counter-attack.

84'

Substitution

Rayan Cherki

Ousmane Dembélé

81'

Koné booked

Cáceres skips past the French midfielder, who then cynically scythes him down and picks up a yellow card for his troubles.

81'

Yellow card

Manu Koné

What have Paraguay got left?

For the first time in this game, the South American side are enjoying a spell of sustained possession. They haven't made any inroads just yet in their attempt to find an equaliser.

75'

Second hydration break

There's a bit of pushing and shoving as both players head to the touch line for drinks. Some of the French players clearly aren't particularly pleased with Paraguay's, shall we say, robust defending.

73'

Double Paraguay change

Ávalos and Maurício are on for Almirón and Gómez.

Mbappé scores!

Was there ever any doubt? He steps up, stutters, and sends Gill the wrong way. France lead with 20 minutes to go - Paraguay have it all to do...

71'

Substitution

Gabriel Ávalos

Miguel Almirón

71'

Substitution

Maurício

Diego Gómez

70'

Kylian Mbappé

GOAL!

0:1

Penalty

Goal probability

Goal probability determines the likelihood that the ball will land in the goal from every position on the pitch. The value is based on large amounts of data from previous years; factors such as shot angle, distance to goal and opponent pressure - as well as mathematical models.

77 %

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

11 m

68'

Mbappé to take the penalty

Is this the moment for France after a frustrating first 70 minutes?

Doué goes down in the box!

There is a VAR review after a challenge by Gómez inside the Paraguay box. After initially waving away French protest, he reviews the footage on the VAR monitor and award the spot-kick! Penalty to France...

64'

xG values tell the story of the game

xGoals

The xGoals value of a club is calculated from the sum of all goal probabilities (goals and shots on goal) of that team. During a match, it’s easy to see whether the club is performing better than expected (goals > xGoals) - or maybe even higher (xGoals > goals).

Neither side have created anything substantial in front of goal as we pass the hour mark.

xGoals

0.03

0.31

Goals

62'

First France substitution

It's a like-for-like on the left-wing, as Doué comes on for his club teammate, Barcola.

61'

Another Paraguay change

Enciso also needs to go off after seemingly taking a knock. Caballero replaces the forward.

61'

Substitution

Désiré Doué

Bradley Barcola

61'

Substitution

Gustavo Caballero

Julio Enciso

58'

Injury for Alderete?

The Sunderland defender looks to be in some discomfort and cannot continue. He is replaced Canale, who will slot into the Paraguay backline.

58'

Substitution

José Canale

Omar Alderete

56'

Great stop from Gill!

He is called into action once again! Koné has time and space to shoot just outside the Paraguay box, and Gill has to scramble across his goal line to make a Hollywood save. So far, Koné's long-range efforts have been France's biggest scoring opportunities.

53'

Mbappé is in!

He races away on the counter but cannot control the bouncing ball. Moments later, a corner taken quickly sees Gill save from Dembélé, who decided to shoot from a very tight angle.

50'

Corner for Paraguay

Almirón pinches the ball off Upamecano after the Bayern man's poor chest control. His shot from a tight angle is deflected out of play for a Paraguay corner - which Maignan just about punched away for a throw-in.

48'

More of the same

The second period begins just as the first did - with France dominating the ball inside the Paraguay half.

46'

Second half is underway

The game is back on in Philadelphia. Can Olise be the difference maker this half?

Kick-off!

Half-time: Paraguay 0-0 France

So far, so good for Paraguay, who have been very difficult to break down against France's all-star attack. Deschamps' men are yet to have a clear-cut chance in front of goal, having come closest to scoring courtesy of a deflection. France will be looking to step things up in the second period, but as far as Paraguay are concerned, that was close to a perfect half - as all they're missing is a goal of their own on the counter.

Half-time

45'

Stoppage time

There will be an additional three minutes of play at the end of the half. Paraguay continue to make life difficult for France, while also posing a threat on the counter.

43'

Little goal-mouth action

France have dominated the ball, but their South American opponents have done a great job at limiting shots at their goal so far.

Goal attempts

2off target

0on target

3off target

1on target

41'

Another France corner

Koundé wins a corner-kick after his cross is blocked. Olise takes it, but Gill does well to palm the ball away from danger. France still haven't created a clear cut chance this half.

38'

Mbappé goes down again

The France forward is hit on the chest by Galarza as he makes a lung-busting run forward. Mbappé wins a free-kick for his troubles, while the Paraguay midfielder avoids a booking for the challenge.

35'

Free-kick France

Tensions boil over after Mbappé is fouled. Cubas brings the Real Madrid man down from around 25 yards out, who then retorts with a shove. The resulting free-kick is well dealt with by Paraguay. They have been exemplary at combatting all of France's set-piece routines.

Mbappé denied

It's France's most dangerous moment so far. Dembélé whips in a teasing cross from the right corner of the penalty area, but just as Mbappé looks poised to head the ball in from close range, Gómez puts him off balance and it rolls harmlessly out of play.

30'

Paraguay break away

Almirón does brilliantly to drag his side up the pitch with a mazy run. The ball eventually falls to Gómez just outside the France box, but his skewed shot is well off target.

27'

Play resumes

Gill gets the game going again with a long goal-kick.

25'

Hydration break

The players have paused for three minutes to take on fluids.

22'

Deflected shot

Koné lets fly from around 20 yards out. His curled shot takes a wicked deflection off a Paraguay player and just about sneaks past Gill's far post. The resulting corner comes to nothing.

20'

All eyes on Olise

While France have largely been frustrated in the final third, the winger has found some joy down the right channel early on.

Duels won

Miguel Almirón Michael Olise

19'

First booking

Barcola swipes at the ball on the half-way line but ends up taking out Cáceres instead. The PSG man then picks up an early yellow card.

19'

Yellow card

Bradley Barcola

16'

Olise sharp

The Bayern midfielder's movement has been very clever in the opening exchanges. He is picked out by Dembélé down the right channel, but Olise can't quite trap the ball. He looks like the danger man so far.

13'

Free-kick for Paraguay

Almirón floats the ball into the French box, but Mbappé is well placed to head it away to safety.

10'

Penalty appeal

Rabiot falls to the ground inside the penalty area after a Paraguay defender bundles him over. The referee waves away his protests, however.

Patient build-up play

Much like Germany last week, France are patiently knocking the ball around, looking for any space to exploit. Paraguay are yet to string more than two passes together.

Defence vs. attack

Paraguay have dropped into a very low block to try and deny France any space in behind. The 2018 world champions then win their first corner, which is well headed away by Velázquez.

France on the front foot

Deschamps' side are already looking dangerous. Mbappé has the ball at the edge of the Paraguay box but is dispossessed well.

We're underway!

The ball is rolling in this Round of 16 tie. Paraguay are in their familiar red and white, while France are playing in all-blue.

Kick-off!

National anthem time

Kick-off is just moments away at a scorching Philadelphia Stadium.

Big day for America

It's the USA's 250th Independence Day anniversary today, and the locals are out in force in Philadelphia to celebrate.

Assist king

Bayern's Michael Olise may not have scored yet at this World Cup, but he leads the tournament's assist chart with five already.

Orlando magic

Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill saved two penalties in the shootout against Germany in the last round, keeping out efforts from Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade to help the South Americans progress to this stage. Will he be a thorn in France's side today?

Mbappé milestone

Kylian Mbappé is set to make his 103rd international appearance here, tying him with head coach Didier Deschamps for ninth place on France’s all-time list.

Morocco up next

Whoever wins this one will set up a quarter-final encounter with Morocco on Thursday 9 July in Boston. The Atlas Lions knocked out co-hosts Canada 3-0 earlier today.

More on that Paraguay team

For the South Americans, there are three changes to the starting XI compared to the last game against Germany. José Canale, Damián Bobadilla, and Gabriel Ávalos drop to the bench, with Victor Velázquez, Omar Alderete (pictured) and Diego Gómez taking their places.

More on that France team

Michael Olise once again begins for Les Bleus as part of their fearsome attacking quarter. Head coach Didier Deschamps has only made one change following the victory over Sweden in the last round, bringing in former Gladbach midfielder Manu Koné for Aurélien Tchouaméni in the middle of the park.

Starting line-up: France

Formation:4-2-3-1

France subs

Samba, Risser, Gusto, Konaté, Hernández, Hernández, Lacroix, Tchouaméni, Kanté, Zaïre-Emery, Cherki, Akliouche, Thuram, Doué, Mateta

Starting line-up: Paraguay

Formation:5-4-1

Paraguay subs

Fernández, Oliveira, Balbuena, Canale, Maidana, Sosa, Mauricio, Bobadilla, Ojeda, Caballero, Sanabria, Romero Gamarra, Arce, Ávalos, Pitta

Head-to-head

These two sides have met on five previous occasions, with Paraguay yet to register a victory. France, meanwhile, have three wins, including both World Cup games between the two (7-3 in 1958 and 1-0 in 1998).

How they got here: Paraguay

Paraguay's tournament got off to the worst possible start as they lost 4-1 to hosts USA in their opening game, also having influential midfielder Miguel Almirón sent off, but they have been on the up ever since. They followed that up with a crucial win over Türkiye, while they then drew with Australia to secure their place in the last 32. There, they caused a big upset as they knocked Germany out on penalties. Can they continue their run here?

How they got here: France

It has been a swashbuckling tournament so far for France, who look in imperious form. They have won all four matches so far, scoring 13 goals and conceding just three. Kylian Mbappé has stolen the show with six goals already, but Bayern Munich pair Michael Olise and Dayot Upamecano have also impressed.

Welcome!

Follow all of the action as Paraguay take on France in this 2026 FIFA World Cup round of 16 tie at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia.