On this occasion, France kept the champagne football on ice. Which was probably just as well, given the temperature. As Philadelphia broiled in an independence day heatwave, the World Cup favourites were forced to drop a gear or two but still had too much for a Paraguay team that set out for a fight but were ultimately no more than a nuisance.
- France dominated possession early, recycling the ball largely in front of Paraguay's defence with limited penetration.
- Julio Enciso led a compact, organised Paraguay setup, harrying opponents and drawing fouls to disrupt France.
- Désiré Doué's introduction lifted tempo; he beat defenders, drove into the box and was fouled to win the penalty.
- Referee Ilgiz Tantashev initially ruled no foul but, after a VAR review, reversed his decision and awarded a spot kick.
- Kylian Mbappé coolly converted the penalty, drawing level with Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race and sending France through.
In the annals of France-Paraguay encounters this was more France 98 than Sweden 58, where Just Fontaine embellished his World Cup legend with a hat-trick. Les Bleuss’ modern-day goal machine, Kylian Mbappé, had to make do with just the one, a penalty, to draw him level again with Lionel Messi in the golden boot race, but one behind the great man in terms of the all-time goalscoring record.
This was undoubtedly a big occasion. And on the day of the semiquincentennial anniversary of the US declaration of independence, there was no way Philadelphia would not commemorate the moment. The celebration was predictably grand, with an interpretation of the stars and stripes rendered on the pitch, formation dancing and a performance of America the Beautiful by a boys’ choir. This being Philly, local rap superstars the Roots also performed a quick set and a member of the group bounced around in the formidable heat while also playing the French horn.
Rap at 100 degrees fahrenheit – 38C – is possible, it appears, but playing football is more of a challenge. A game that was already likely to end up as cat chasing mouse was made even cagier by the fact neither party was able to chase. France dominated possession in the first half; as they returned to play after the opening, much-needed hydration break they had 208 passes Paraguay’s 33. Those passes were almost entirely in front of the Paraguay defence, however, as France sought to let the ball do the work on their behalf.
It was a long-term bet, a prediction that Paraguay would not be able to close down every gap for the duration of the match. At the same time, the questions being asked of Gustavo Alfaro’s men in the opening 45 minutes were not exactly demanding. The closest France got to causing real uncertainty in the Paraguay defence came in the 35th minute when a Michael Olise free-kick was scuffed across goal by Gustavo Velázquez, only ultimately to be cleared.
To be fair to Paraguay, they did not look as if they had signed up to be drummed into submission. They were compact, organised and possessed by a live spirit that sought only to frustrate and annoy the French at any opportunity. This applied to no one more than Julio Enciso, Paraguay’s sole forward in a 5-4-1 formation. With gaps of up to 40 yards between himself and any midfield support, it was the former Brighton man’s task to harrass the French without the ball and, with it, tempt them into fouls. He was very successful in his role.
When the terms re-emerged after 15 minutes of air conditioning, shadow had taken over most of the pitch and the temperature had mercifully dropped a few degrees. You could tell just from watching as, no doubted aided by the half-time words of Didier Deschamps, France set about the play at a quicker tempo.
In the 55th minute they had their first shot on target, a long-range effort from Manu Koné that was well saved by Orlando Gill. But there was little in the way of penetration into the Paraguay area, and after a succession of long-range efforts went nowhere, Deschamps acted, removing Bradley Barcola after he wasted an opportunity on the hour, and replacing him with Désiré Doué.
It had the désiré-d effect. Stationed on the left, Doué immediately set about taking on the Paraguay defence and now you could see the impact on the South Americans of an hour chasing the ball. In the 64th minute Doué got the ball and went straight for the box. He beat one, he beat two and he was brought down by the third, Diego Gómez. Ilgiz Tantashev of Uzbekistan initially called no foul but, eventually, the video assistant referee had other ideas.
After a visit to the monitor Tantashev reconsidered his position and awarded a spot-kick. Dembelé seized the ball to protect it but there was no doubt as to the taker. After Tantashev reset the spot following a little attempt to dig it up by a Paraguay player, Mbappé stepped up, sent Gill to his right, rolled the ball to his left and France had the lead they needed. They held on to it without any sweat, or at least no more than there would have been otherwise.
