France booked their place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals after edging Paraguay 1-0 in a hard-fought Round of 16 clash at Philadelphia Stadium.
After a goalless first half, Kylian Mbappé broke the deadlock in the 70th minute, calmly converting a penalty to secure victory for Les Bleus and send them into the last eight.
The Real Madrid forward now leads the tournament's scoring chart with seven goals, level with Argentina captain Lionel Messi. Mbappé also raised his World Cup tally to 19 career goals, moving within one of Messi's 20-goal record.
France controlled possession throughout much of the contest but struggled to break down Paraguay's disciplined defense before Mbappé's decisive spot-kick.
Paraguay relied mainly on counter-attacks but failed to seriously threaten goalkeeper Mike Maignan, who kept a clean sheet.
France will now face Morocco in the quarter-finals after the Atlas Lions produced an impressive 3-0 victory over Canada.
Morocco became the first team to reach the quarter-finals, thanks to a brilliant brace from Azzedine Ounahi and a late goal from Soufiane Rahimi, setting up one of the tournament's most anticipated knockout matches.
Follow the latest news on Google News
