Philadelphia (Lord Media): France celebrated a hard-fought victory over Paraguay, winning 1-0 in the FIFA World Cup 2026 pre-quarterfinals to advance to the quarterfinals. France will now face Morocco. The French team had to exert significant effort to secure this win. Paraguay adopted a defensive strategy, successfully thwarting French attacks for a considerable time. However, in the 70th minute, a VAR review awarded France a penalty after substitute Desire Doue was fouled in the penalty area.
Captain Mbappe successfully converted the penalty, which proved to be the decisive goal of the match. This goal increased Mbappe’s tally to seven in the World Cup 2026, equaling Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. It was also his 19th career World Cup goal.
In the final moments of the match, Paraguay made a strong effort to equalize, but French goalkeeper Mike Maignan made crucial saves to maintain his team’s lead, while the defense thwarted several dangerous attacks.
Following France’s victory, they will face Morocco in the quarterfinals, a match that is anticipated to draw significant attention from fans. France had also defeated Morocco in the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup.
