Mbappe fires shots after surviving Paraguay's guillotine: "We can also get our hands dirty"
Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 05.07.26. | 12:42
The South Americans demonstrated their willingness to win at any cost, including harsh tackles and other tricks...
France booked their place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals after surviving a bruising battle against Paraguay, with captain Kylian Mbappe accusing their opponents of turning the Round of 16 clash into a fight rather than a football match.
The French edged through 1-0 in Philadelphia thanks to Mbappe's 70th-minute penalty, but the scoreline barely reflected the ferocity of an encounter in which Paraguay attempted to suffocate Didier Deschamps' side with relentless physicality and constant disruption.
Mbappé is being harassed five times in this 23-second video. Think how much he had for 100 minutes. He didn’t even retaliate once. Laughed his way off. This is a legendary day for Mbappé’s story and I’m not even kidding pic.twitter.com/yS7b1VGAbw
— Çetin Cem Yılmaz (@cetincem) July 5, 2026
The South Americans, who had stunned Germany in the previous round, frustrated a France team that had scored 13 goals in its opening five matches. Tempers flared repeatedly before the break, with Andres Cubas scything down Mbappe in one challenge before Matias Galarza caught the French captain with a stray elbow to the head during another heated confrontation.
The Real Madrid superstar admitted France had expected exactly that kind of contest and insisted his side proved they can win ugly as well as entertain.
"We knew what kind of match to expect. I think the way we handled it was very good. We showed we're not just a team that knows how to play attractive football. If we have to get our hands dirty, we'll get our hands dirty. We have absolutely no problem with that. Guess they were thinking we were going to show up in tuxedos, but we were ready."
Straight after the final whistle, Mbappe was celebrating and ignoring Paraguay's keeper Orlando Gill, who wanted to shake hands with the Frenchman. That's when Gill decided to toss the ball towards Mbappe, resulting in the ball hitting the French striker on the back. Although the Golden Boot contender chose to ignore it, it led to an altercation in the midfield.
"This is football. If they are not used to this, well, what can we do?" Gill stated. "I extended my hand to congratulate him, but since he ignored me, obviously, I had a moment of anger, but later I calmed down."
France will now face Morocco in the quarter-finals after the Atlas Lions comfortably defeated Canada 3-0.
WORLD CUP - KNOCKOUT STAGE
Round of 16
Saturday
Canada - Morocco 0-3 (0-0)
/Ounahi 50, 82, Rahimi 90+8/
Sunday
France - Paraguay 1-0 (0-0)
/Mbappe 70 pen/
23.00: (1.90) Brazil (3.90) Norway (4.15)
Monday
03.00: (3.25) Mexico (3.15) England (2.45)
22.00: (3.80) Portugal (3.45) Spain (2.00)
Tuesday
03.00: (2.70) USA (3.40) Belgium (2.65)
19.00: (1.37) Argentina (4.70) Egypt (9.00)
23.00: (3.40) Switzerland (3.25) Colombia (2.30)
***odds are subject to change***