Paraguay were defeated by France 1-0 in the Round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup, in a matchup hosted at Philadelphia Stadium (Lincoln Financial Field) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. With the loss, the Albirroja’s journey has come to an end.
With this result, Paraguay are officially eliminated from the competition, leaving them with no chances left to keep fighting for anything. This clears the way for France to advance to the quarterfinals with a difficult path to the finals, becoming the second team to qualify, while Paraguay become the second team to be eliminated in the Round of 16.
France secured their qualification, where their opponent is already confirmed to be Morocco, who qualified after defeating Canada 3-0, but with the bad news of an injury to Ismael Saibari. The matchup is scheduled for July 9 at 4:00 PM ET at Boston Stadium.
Mbappe the savior for France
The only goal of the match came in what was an absolute battle from start to finish, resembling a sort of Copa Libertadores versus Champions League clash. The game was filled with choppy play, verbal exchanges, hard tackles, and a gritty, uncomfortable style of play. Kylian Mbappe shined once again, scoring to maintain his spot at the top of the tournament’s scoring charts with seven goals.
Kylian Mbappe of France
Mbappe’s goal originated from the bench after Didier Deschamps decided to substitute Bradley Barcola for Desire Doue in the 61st minute for France. On one of his first involvements, Doue cut inside, feinted past three players in the Paraguayan defense, and was fouled by Diego Gomez.
The play was ultimately reviewed by VAR and the penalty was awarded. Following plenty of protests and gamesmanship from both sides, Mbappe stepped up to take it, leaving no chance for goalkeeper Orlando Gill, who dived the opposite way of Mbappe’s strike.
It’s the seventh goal of the tournament for France’s all-time leading scorer, and the 19th career goal at the World Cup. Mbappe is coming off his third brace of the tournament in France’s Round of 32 win over Sweden earlier in the week. He scored in the 45th minute before halftime and then again in the 74th minute of the second half, both of which pushed his total of knockout-round goals at the World Cup to 10, a tournament record for an individual player.
