Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele came up with a brilliant move to foil Paraguay’s shocking tactic during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match on Sunday. The match featured a number of rough tackles from Paraguay players as France were left frustrated. The two teams even got involved in a heated spat over Andres Cubas‘ tackle on Mbappe in the first half. The breakthrough for France finally came midway through the second half after they were awarded a penalty due to a Diego Gomez foul on Desire Doue. Dembele stood at the penalty spot to shield the area but while the referee was in conversation with the Paraguay players, defender Gustavo Velazquez tried to damage the spot in order to disrupt the penalty routine.
Morttt la réaction de Dembélé#FRAPRA pic.twitter.com/sbooPyjG67
— a.yz (@tryz38) July 5, 2026
However, at the final moment, Dembele handed the ball to Mbappe for the spot kick. Mbappe was not bothered by the damaged spot and he scored the match-winning goal for France which took them to the quarterfinals.
Mbappe said his side was ready for a physical contest against Paraguay and showed they could adapt to any style of play after securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16, according to Reuters.
Speaking after France booked their place in the quarterfinals, Mbappe said Les Bleus were well aware of the kind of challenge Paraguay would present.
“We knew what kind of match we were going to have,” Mbappe said after the match, as quoted by Reuters.
The France skipper said his team was willing to embrace a physical contest if required and rejected the notion that Les Bleus would shy away from such battles.
“If we have to get our hands dirty, we can do that. We can play ugly football. They thought we would turn up in tuxedos, but we were there,” he said.
Mbappe also backed France’s overall performance, insisting his side deserved the victory despite Paraguay’s combative approach.
“Even at that game, we were better than them. That’s their football — there is no right or wrong way to play the game. They tried to get at us that way, but we won,” he added, as quoted by Reuters.
(With agency inputs)
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