France advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 North America World Cup after beating Paraguay on a penalty kick goal from Kylian Mbappe.
France defeated Paraguay 1-0 in the round-of-16 match held at Philadelphia Stadium in Pennsylvania on Thursday. France, with its formidable firepower, dominated play one-sidedly but was blocked by Paraguay's defensive wall and struggled to create threatening chances. Mbappe failed to record even a single shot in the first half.
France began to find a breakthrough when it brought on Desire Doue, known for his dribbling skills and technique, in the 61st minute. Once Doue entered, France's flank attack came alive. Cutting through Paraguay's defensive wall with quick movement and dribbling, Doue drew a penalty kick within less than 10 minutes of stepping onto the pitch.
As Doue dribbled between Paraguay's defenders, Paraguay's Diego Gomez made a reckless tackle, and the referee awarded a penalty kick after a video assistant referee (VAR) review. Stepping up as the kicker, Mbappe drove his shot into the right side of the goal to score France's opening goal.
With his seventh goal of the tournament, Mbappe moved into a tie with Argentina's Lionel Messi for the lead in the scoring race. He also increased his career World Cup goals to 19, closing to within one goal of Messi (20), who tops the category. Mbappe's record for most goals in World Cup tournaments increased to 11. France became the fourth nation to reach 150 career World Cup goals, following Brazil, Germany and Argentina.
France will play its quarterfinal against Morocco, which crushed Canada 3-0 on the same day, at Boston Stadium at 5 a.m. Korea time on June 10. France and Morocco met in the semifinals of the 2022 Qatar tournament, when France won 2-0.
