Kylian Mbappe, 27, once again proved to be a decisive player for France in the World Cup, scoring the only goal in their Round of 16 match against Paraguay. This victory secured France’s place in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Mbappe converted a penalty in the 70th minute, bringing his goal tally in the current tournament to seven, tying him with Lionel Messi at the top of the scoring chart.
In the upcoming quarterfinals, France will face Morocco, a rematch from the 2022 World Cup semifinals.
Kylian Mbappe Responds to Paraguay’s Tactics
The match between Paraguay and France was one of the most intense of the tournament, with numerous close duels and several interruptions due to hard fouls and exchanges between players.
After the game, Mbappe delivered a stern message, noting that he was aware of what to expect from the Paraguayan team and that his squad was prepared to match their physical style of play.
He criticized his opponents’ approach, implying they believed France would play a purely skillful game without engaging physically. “If they say, ‘Get lost!’ then we will say, ‘Get lost!’ too. We knew what kind of match we were going to have. If we need to get our hands dirty, we know how to do it. We can play ugly football, dirty football,” Mbappe stated.
“They thought we would come and play in suits. Even in this game, we were better than them. This is their style of football. There is no right or wrong way to play football. They tried to play that way, but we won. Paraguay didn’t want to play football. We showed them we can play that way too. We won and were better than them!” he added, according to RMC Sport.
The victory keeps France among the top favorites to win the tournament. After adapting to the tough style imposed by Paraguay, Didier Deschamps’ team is preparing for a highly anticipated match against Morocco in the quarterfinals.
