France ekes past Paraguay and everything else to know from Saturday’s World Cup matches

HaNgan
July 5, 2026

On the first day of Round of 16 action, we saw valiant efforts, fantastic goals and a real grind-it-out battle of attrition.

In the second match of the day, France eked past Paraguay, with the South Americans providing a tough test for one of the tournament favorites. In the day’s early fixture, Morocco defeated World Cup co-host Canada in Houston to seal a ticket to the quarterfinals.

Here’s everything to know about Saturday’s Round of 16 matches:

France pips Paraguay to make quarterfinals

In a roasting hot Philadelphia, France beat Paraguay 1-0 to progress to the quarterfinals against Morocco in Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium on July 9.

A converted penalty from Kylian Mbappé pushed Les Bleus into the quarterfinals for the fourth World Cup in a row and kept France on track for a third star above its crest.

With the temperature sitting at around 100 degrees Fahrenheit at Lincoln Financial Field when the ball was kicked off, you could forgive the players for taking a foot off the gas and feeling things out before pushing the matter more in the second half, but that was the last thing on their minds.

From the get-go, Les Bleus – including, at one point, the entire squad except for goalkeeper Mike Maignan – were in the Paraguay half, searching for an opener as La Albirroja defended valiantly. Proof of the dominance was France’s possession stat of 89% after five minutes of play.

But the constant attacking hadn’t paid off by the 20-minute mark, with Paraguay still defending well and France being just slightly off kilter with its passing in the final third of the pitch.

When the, for once, much-needed hydration break arrived, it was a chance for everyone in the stands and the players to grab a drink, France manager Didier Deschamps to yell at his team to be more incisive and Paraguay boss Gustavo Alfaro to tell his men, “Keep it up.”

The restart brought a bit more Paraguay urgency in attack, but things soon returned to normal with Les Bleus pushing up the pitch almost constantly.

The first partial opportunity of the match came in the 32nd minute when Ousmane Dembele provided a brilliant cross from the right into the box for Kylian Mbappé, but Diego Gómez appeared to slightly nudge the Real Madrid superstar, throwing him off balance and failing to make contact with the lofted ball.

A bit of a scuffle broke out in the 34th minute when Andrés Cubas fouled Mbappé and the Frenchman pushed him in retaliation, revealing France’s frustrations at failing to break down the South American defense. The resulting free kick provided a bit of intrigue as it was deflected and bounced around the box before being cleared by the Paraguayan defense.

As the halftime whistle blew, fans surely would have been thanking the gods for the respite, not from the heat, but rather the lack of any substantive action.

While France had over 80% possession in the first half, neither team had a shot on target and the state of play gave the impression that things were playing into Paraguay’s hands heading into the next 45 minutes.