France Can Win Ugly Too After Paraguay Victory

Speaking to the home broadcasters after the match, Mbappe said: “I think we knew what kind of match we were going to play, but today I think it is very good. The match we played, how we played. We showed that we are not a team that only knows how to play attacking football. If we have to get our hands dirty (‘get our hands in the dirt), we will get our hands dirty, excuse the expression. We have no problem with that.”

He added: “They thought we would play in tuxedos, come and do nice moves, one-twos. We also know how to play dirty football. And today we did that, we won and even at that we were better than them.”

Mbappe’s comments came after France were pushed to their limits by a disciplined Paraguay team in the round of 16 at Lincoln Financial Field.

Having made it through the group stage, Didier Deschamps’ men found themselves in a nail-biting encounter in which Paraguay frustrated them for long periods of time with organized defending and relentless pressure.

France gained the lion’s share of possession but were unable to register a shot on target in the first half; this became the third FIFA World Cup qualifying match since 1966 to reach the interval without either side making an effort on goal.

The game also had several flashpoints. Tempers flared midway through the first half when Mbappe reacted to a challenge from Andres Cubas, triggering a mass clash between players from both teams.

While France finished the match with three yellow cards, Paraguay escaped without receiving a yellow card.

The breakthrough came in the 66th minute when substitute Desire Doue raced past three defenders and was brought down by Diego Gomez in the penalty area.

While the Paraguayan players tried to delay the restart and gathered around Ousmane Dembele, believing he would take the penalty, Dembele instead left the kick to Mbappe.

The France captain calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner to score the only goal of the match.

Mbappe was denied a second goal in injury time by an excellent double save from goalkeeper Orlando Gill as Paraguay pressed for a late equaliser.

After the final whistle, Gill tried to shake Mbappe’s hand, but the French captain walked past him and continued celebrating with his team-mates.

The narrow victory will send France into the quarter-finals, where they will face Morocco, who continue their quest for a third FIFA World Cup title.