Kylian Mbappe’s penalty lifts France past Paraguay into quarterfinals
PHILADELPHIA: Kylian Mbappe converted from the spot for his 19th World Cup goal and seventh of this tournament as France outlasted Paraguay to reach the quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory on Saturday in a steamy round of 16 encounter. With the penalty, earned by substitute Desire Doue’s slaloming run into the area, Mbappe scored in the 70th minute to pull even with Argentina’s Lionel Messi atop the 2026 Golden Boot leaderboard and move within one of the 39-year-old for the all-time World Cup goals lead. It was all Les Bleus needed against a resilient but limited Albirroja side, who defended admirably in sweltering conditions with temperatures nearing 100 Fahrenheit while offering little going forward. France advance to meet Morocco next Thursday in Foxborough, Mass., in a rematch of the 2022 semifinal that ended in a 2-0 French victory. Paraguay shocked Germany on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the round of 32 on Monday, a result that inspired president Santiago Pena to declare Tuesday a national holiday. But the Albirroja still exited a round shy of their all-time best quarterfinal finish in 2010, which doubled as their last World Cup finals appearance. The South Americans frustrated the two-time World Champions throughout the first half and well into the second, aided in part by the card-shy approach of Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev.