There were furious celebrations when France secured their place in the quarter-finals. The entire squad charged from the centre spot to the end of the Philadelphia stadium where the core of French support was gathered. There was a pile-on, there was roaring and chests were actively thumped. Leading the proceedings, as ever, was Kylian Mbappé.
- Paraguay's compact five-man block stifled France, producing the lowest shots on target and xG of their tournament.
- France were forced to find a solution from the bench; Desiré Doué and Kylian Mbappé's moments decided the match.
- Heat and Paraguay's obstructive tactics hindered fluid play; VAR awarded a late penalty and the game exposed vulnerabilities for Morocco.
As soon as the revelry had subsided, the French captain immediately turned to the TV cameras and framed the narrative of the game. This had been less of a match and more of a battle, he said, against a Paraguay side who had nagged, nibbled and, occasionally, smashed their way through proceedings. “We knew what kind of match we were going to have,” Mbappé said. “But we know how to get our hands dirty.”
Back in the belly of the stadium, Didier Deschamps gave a less impassioned assessment of what had gone on. “It was a tough game but, as I said to the players, we’ve had easy games so far. It is good to face a tough one,” he said.
“I have prepared the players, they were expecting this game. I do not want to criticise Paraguay; each team plays the way they want. We looked at playing football but the opponent did what they wanted to do. Playing low block requires less effort. But even in today’s heat we should have played faster in transition.”
Without wanting to diminish the effectiveness of Paraguay’s dark arts, and especially the performance of the highly collapsible Matías Galarza, it served Mbappé and his teammates to make the story about the scrap. This was the least convincing performance by the French at this World Cup. They didn’t register a shot on target until the 55th minute and only had one more – the winning penalty – before a final attacking flourish led to Mbappé being denied by the Paraguay keeper Orlando Gill on three occasions in an extended period of added time.
France recorded the fewest shots on target and the lowest xG of their tournament (penalty included). Paraguay, reverting to a five man back line and with a narrow midfield four placed just in front, limited the spaces to such an extent that even Michael Olise was unable to thread the eye of the needle. Ousmane Dembelé struggled in the game, as did Bradley Barcola. There was no point in the match at which they were suddenly able to raise their level, as in previous games, and a general air of disjointedness will have proven intriguing viewing for Morocco, France’s next opponents, who are also capable of stifling a game.
Yes, there were mitigating factors at play. From the viewpoint of the stands it had appeared that the furious heat in Philadelphia, temperatures of 38C that caused the city to cancel some of its 4 July celebrations, was more of a factor in the outcome of this match than any Paraguayan disruption. The opposition had done their best to provoke, but France struggled from the start to play at any pace – especially when the pitch was fully exposed to the sun.
In the end, France were reduced to being a moments team. Their star players, Mbappé especially, looked to solve problems in the match by themselves. They won the match in this way, too. Désiré Doué’s slalom into the box was just too quick for two Paraguay defenders and drew a clumsy challenge from the third, the captain, Gustavo Gómez. The referee, Ilgiz Tantashev, missed the foul, not the only thing to pass him by in the match, but VAR eventually intervened to award a penalty that Mbappé calmly converted.
PSG’s Doué probably had his best performance of the tournament, even if it was limited to the last 30 minutes as he came off the bench. And that, ultimately, may be the most relevant takeaway from the game. France faced a tough tactical challenge – and infuriating opponents – in very difficult conditions. They didn’t play well, and didn’t create many chances (though it should be noted they didn’t concede any either). For the first time at this World Cup they had to go to their bench to find a solution to win them the game. And it worked.
Paraguay, through the various means at their disposal, were able to take the edge off France in Philadelphia like Cape Verde had against fellow favourites Argentina the night before. The removal of any cloak of invincibility will be good for the tournament. Deschamps’s side will have to play better against the Moroccans in Boston on Thursday. But in emerging from this trial France have also reminded everyone of the full extent of their capabilities. They can win in tuxedos or they can win in moments, and those moments can come from anywhere.
