Overview
- France beat Paraguay 1-0 on Saturday after Kylian Mbappé converted a penalty awarded by VAR for a foul by Diego Gomez on Désiré Doué.
- Referee Ilgiz Tantashev was widely criticized for allowing Paraguay’s repeated provocative and physical play without issuing any yellow cards while VAR overturned his initial non-call to award the decisive penalty.
- Michael Olise, Manu Koné and Bradley Barcola received yellow cards and now face suspension risk later in the tournament, and the Fédération Française de Football has asked FIFA to review Olise’s booking.
- The match, played in extreme heat in Philadelphia, saw Paraguay use a deep, time‑wasting defensive block that disrupted France’s usual attacking game and produced few clear chances.
- France will meet Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinal in the Boston/Foxborough area on July 9, with Mbappé’s goal marking his seventh of the tournament and moving him close to Lionel Messi’s finals record.