Mbappé’s penalty lifts France to a 1-0 victory over Paraguay

With their 1-0 win over Paraguay on Saturday, France advanced to the quarterfinal where they will matchup against Morocco.

Neither side would see an attempt until the 22nd minute when Manu Koné’s strike from 32 yards out would be blocked.

In the 35th, similarly to the match between Canada and Morocco, a shoving match would ensue following a foul on Kylian Mbappé.

Following the foul, France’s freekick would see the ball dangerously float across the face of goal before being cleared away.

The half would end seeing France control 80% of the possession and take five strikes onto net.

However, none of those five would be on target, either missing entirely or being blocked.

In the 51st minute, a Paraguayan corner would quickly turn into a French counterattack.

Mbappé would take a one-on-one with Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill but would see the ball be cleared away before he could take a strike.

Just a few minutes later, Gill would be required to make another save, denying Koné a chance to put France ahead.

France would find a possible chance to score with help of a VAR review.

Désiré Doué would go down in the box, which would originally be waved off by referee Ilgiz Tantashev.

However, following his review, he would overturn the decision, awarding France the penalty kick.

Mbappé stepped up to the spot to take the kick.

Getting Gill to guess wrong, all Mbappé had to do was tap the ball right into the back of the net.

Late in the half, Mbappé would look to secure a brace and put himself in sole possession of first in the Golden Boot race.

But Gill would deny France once again, keeping Paraguay in the match.

And would look to reward Gill for his work in net with a chance to equalize late.

But French goalkeeper Mike Maignan would make the save, keeping France ahead.

In the 90+6th Mbappé would twice more test Gill and twice more he would be denied.

But France would need just one, with the full-time whistle signaling their advance to the quarterfinals against Morocco.

France will face off against Morocco at 4 p.m. on Thursday.

Follow Adrian Murillo Silva on Instagram at @adrianms_official

About the Author Published Jul 4, 2026

ADRIAN MURILLO SILVA

Adrian Murillo Silva covers both MLB and soccer news for Ball Exclusives. He has previously worked with other news publications such as The Lantern, the independent student voice of Ohio State.