When it comes to the dark arts of football, Paraguay showed they can play better than anyone. It was a bad-tempered match in the Philadelphia heat where Paraguay showed their ugly side. There were fouls galore from the South American team, and amazingly the referee did not book one Paraguayan player over the 90 minutes. “It was embarrassing to see,” said former England defender Micah Richards.
Mbappe Scores and Equals Messi’s Seven Tournament Goals
The winning goal came from the French talisman, Mbappe, with 20 minutes remaining in the game. Diego Gomez brought down Desire Doue in the box, which, after a review, was deemed a penalty. The Paraguay players crowded the referee, and Gustavo Velazquez tried his best to scuff the penalty spot. But nothing worked as Mbappe stepped up to slot home the penalty and send France through.
Incredibly, Kylian Mbappe has now scored 19 goals in 19 World Cup matches, and is now only one behind Messi’s 20-goal record. France go on to face Morocco in Boston on Thursday, which is a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semi-final.
