“I was going to send them to the hospital.” Ibrahimovic criticizes Paraguay players’ provocations to Mbappe | sports

Retired Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic believes that the tolerance shown by the French national football team in its match against Paraguay is worthy of praise.

The match between France and Paraguay, in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, witnessed repeated clashes and friction between the players of the two teams, before the Rooster team decided the match in its favor, following a 1-0 victory, on Saturday evening, to qualify for the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

Kylian Mbappe, the captain of the France national team, was a clear example of this, as he was subjected to intense pressure from Orlando Gil, the Paraguayan goalkeeper, who the Spanish Real Madrid striker refused to shake hands with after the match, and Gustavo Gomez and Matias Galarza.

Ibrahimovic, an official at the Italian club Milan, who works as a sports analyst at Fox, said: “Today the French team showed composure. They had to avoid provocations, and they succeeded in doing so.”

Ibrahimovic appeared frank when he indicated that if he had been provoked, he would have responded with punches and sent some Paraguayan players to the hospital.

He added: “If I had played this match, I would have received at least four red cards and sent one of them to the hospital.”

The Swedish legend stressed: “I do not like provocations, but they are part of the game.”

The French national team will meet its Moroccan counterpart in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, next Thursday, at Boston Stadium.

Criticism of the referee

On the other hand, former German referee Patrick Ettrich, who works as a sports analyst for Magenta TV during the World Cup, criticized referee Ilgis Tantashev, saying that he “tolerated mistakes for a very long time.”

He added: “Regarding the yellow and red cards, the referee seemed unable to make decisions in this match. This was the worst performance in this tournament.”

Ettrich criticized the referee, saying: “He had no intention but to hit the player,” accusing him of “losing control.”