Mbappé the difference: France grind past brave Paraguay to set up a Morocco quarter-final

France beat a stubborn Paraguay 1-0 in the Round of 16, Kylian Mbappé's 70th-minute penalty the difference after a VAR review. It was Mbappé's 7th of the tournament, level with Messi atop the Golden Boot. Paraguay's giant-killing run ends; France advance to a mouthwatering quarter-final with Morocco, a 2022 semi-final rematch.

France are through, but Paraguay made them work for every inch of it. In sweltering Philadelphia heat, the giant-killers who had knocked out Germany threw up a defensive wall and frustrated the tournament favourites for over an hour, before Kylian Mbappé settled it from the penalty spot. A 1-0 win, hard-earned, sends France into the quarter-finals and a blockbuster with Morocco.

For long stretches this was backs-to-the-wall defending of the highest order. Gustavo Alfaro's Paraguay sat deep in a rigid block, conceded seventy-six percent of the ball and dared France to break them down. Time and again the French probed without a clear opening, and the frustration in the stands was palpable.

The breakthrough came, inevitably, through the man of the moment. On seventy minutes substitute Désiré Doué darted into the box and was fouled by Diego Gómez; after a VAR review the penalty was given, and Kylian Mbappé stepped up to convert it with ice-cold composure. It was his seventh goal of the tournament, drawing him level with Lionel Messi at the top of the Golden Boot race once more.

France, dominant with fifteen shots and twelve corners to Paraguay's two, never really looked like conceding, Mike Maignan a near-spectator behind a controlled display. Didier Deschamps will know his side made hard work of it, but the important thing, at this stage, is that they are still standing.

Paraguay depart with immense credit. Nobody gave them a prayer against Germany, let alone France, yet Alfaro's side pushed two of the world's best to the limit and leave as one of the stories of the tournament. Their tournament ends, but their stock has never been higher.

France now travel to Boston to face Morocco in the quarter-finals, a rematch of the 2022 semi-final that Les Bleus won on their way to the final. For Morocco, it is a shot at revenge and history; for France, a serious test against a side brimming with belief. It is the tie of the round.

For Kenya, that quarter-final is the one that matters most. Morocco carry the hopes of the continent, and to see them draw the favourites France, four years on from that painful semi-final defeat, sets up an occasion Africa will pour its heart into. France wamepita, lakini sasa wanakutana na Simba wa Atlas, hii ndio vita tunayoingoja: France are through, but now they meet the Atlas Lions, and this is the fight we have been waiting for. As the knockouts intensify, our Europe verdict had France as favourites, while our South America verdict salutes a heroic Paraguay.