Mbappé Penalty Sees France Past Paraguay as Morocco Awaits Ultimate Quarterfinal Test

The 1-0 scoreline doesn't fully reflect the gap in rankings between France and Paraguay, but it's enough to send France to the quarterfinals and enough for Mbappé to rewrite history.

On July 5 Beijing time, the World Cup Round of 16 kicked off. In the first two matchups, Morocco beat co-host Canada 3-0, while tournament favorite France edged Paraguay 1-0 via Mbappé's penalty. Mbappé continued rewriting team records — at just 27 years old he already rivals Messi and even has a chance to surpass him this tournament, earning fans' acclaim as the "King of Knockouts."

The two winners will meet in the quarterfinals on July 10 Beijing time. Morocco, vowing to bring the World Cup to Africa, will face their ultimate test.

19 Goals — Mbappé Rewrites Multiple Scoring Records

On paper, France vs. Paraguay seemed a mismatch given world rankings and individual talent, but Paraguay's frequent physical contact, petty fouls, and rough play gave France plenty of trouble.

"We knew how this match would be played. If they wanted to get dirty, we could too. They (Paraguay) thought we'd show up in suits, but we were ready. That's their style of football — football has no class distinction. They tried to beat us that way, but we won in the end," Mbappé said after the match, expressing frustration with Paraguay's tactics.

The first half ended goalless. Despite France holding 80% possession, none of their 5 shots were on target as both sides focused on physical battles. According to official stats, this was only the third World Cup knockout match since 1966 with no shots on target in the first half.

In the second half, Mbappé was brought down in the box but the referee didn't award a penalty. Not until the 66th minute, when Doué was tripped by Gómez during a lateral run in the box, did France get what they wanted. VAR intervened, and after video review, the referee called a Paraguay foul — France had their penalty.

Mbappé buried it coolly, scoring the only goal of the match. With this strike, his World Cup total reached 19 — his 7th of this tournament, leveling him with Messi in the scoring chart and just one behind the Argentine's all-time World Cup tally of 20.

Remarkably, Mbappé's World Cup goals alone equal the combined total of four French legends: Henry (6), Giroud (5), Zidane (5), and Benzema (3) — exactly 19.

Looking at Mbappé's World Cup efficiency: 4 goals in 2018, 8 in 2022, and now another stellar run in the US-Canada-Mexico World Cup. Another stat: Mbappé has contributed to a goal in each of his last 6 World Cup matches, totaling 10 goals and 2 assists — cementing his status as France's absolute core.

Notably, Mbappé's goal also set a World Cup record. He has now scored at least 7 goals in both the 2022 and current tournaments, becoming only the second player after Messi to achieve this feat.

According to the latest stats, Mbappé's World Cup knockout-stage goals have reached 11, continuing to rank first all-time. Meanwhile, England's Kane and Argentina's Messi — two superstars — have combined for just 11 knockout goals (5 for Kane, 6 for Messi). This comparison adds even more weight to Mbappé's "King of Knockouts" title.

Deschamps on Paraguay's Dirty Play: 'They Nearly Tore Mbappé Apart'

After France's 1-0 win over Paraguay, the referee became the target of online vitriol. Particularly striking was that Paraguay received zero yellow cards throughout the match — only picking one up after the final whistle when their players argued with the referee.

"Why does Paraguay have 0 yellow cards?" "France cleaned up football tonight" "The referee was unbelievable" — these topics quickly went viral on social media.

The reason was simple: the referee failed to make satisfactory calls on several controversial Paraguay fouls. The lenient standard led to excessive entanglement, with both sides even clashing briefly in the first half.

After the match, analysis account Archivo VAR gave Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev a score of just 1.0. Archivo VAR commented it was a night he'd want to forget, with almost nothing positive to find.

Archivo VAR analyzed that Tantashev made repeated officiating errors, letting obvious yellow-card fouls go unpunished. His handling of the match tempo was poor, and he missed Doué's penalty-earning foul in real time — VAR had to intervene and send him to the sideline monitor.

Worse, the match slipped from his control from the opening stages. During multiple confrontations, he seemed incapable of managing the intensity. Archivo VAR concluded: "This might be the worst refereeing performance of this World Cup so far."

France coach Deschamps also addressed Paraguay's approach after the match, expressing dissatisfaction with their heavy use of foul tactics.

"This match was far from easy. They (Paraguay) tried everything — every tactic possible. This kind of football is hard for fans to enjoy. But their defense was solid. Playing South American teams is always tricky," Deschamps said. "I had my two strongest guys surround Mbappé at the end because they were trying to tear him apart."

BBC was also harsh on Paraguay's tactics afterward: "This Paraguay team is a disgrace. If my teammates played like that, I'd pull them off the pitch. I never, ever want to win a match that way. And the referee was equally disgraceful."