Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Kylian Mbappe scored from the penalty spot as France overcame searing heat and stubborn defense to beat Paraguay 1-0 and set up a World Cup quarter-final against Morocco on Saturday. France captain Mbappe coolly stroked in a 70th-minute spot-kick to settle a tense duel with the tough-tackling Paraguayans in furnace-like conditions at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.
The goal was Mbappe’s seventh of the tournament, putting him alongside Argentina’s Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. Paraguay, who pulled off a massive upset in the last 32 by ousting four-time champions Germany on penalties, frustrated France for long periods with an ultra-disciplined defensive effort.
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But the introduction of substitute Desire Doue for left winger Bradley Barcola in the 61st minute led to the breakthrough. Paris Saint-Germain player Doue cut in menacingly from the left and jinked past several Paraguayan players before being upended by Diego Gomez in the area. There was a brief delay after referee Ilgiz Tantashev waved play on, but when the incident was sent to VAR for review, the Uzbek official swiftly pointed to the spot.
Mbappe stepped up and converted with aplomb to settle a match played in temperatures of around 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) as a heatwave roasted the northeastern United States as it celebrated the July 4 holiday. “We knew what sort of match we were in for, but I think today went really well,” Mbappe said after an ill-tempered affair that saw three France players pick up yellow cards. “They thought we’d turn up in tuxedos, that we’d just come to pull off some spectacular moves,” Mbappe added. “But we know how to play the dirty game too. And we did that today; we won, and even in that respect we were better than them.”
France will now face Morocco in the quarter-finals in Foxborough, outside Boston, on Thursday—a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semi-final won by Les Bleus.
Morocco booked their place in the last eight earlier on Saturday after ending co-host Canada’s World Cup campaign with a clinical 3-0 victory in Houston. Two goals from Azzedine Ounahi and an injury-time effort from Soufiane Rahimi sealed the win for Morocco at the NRG Stadium. The reigning African champions, who had produced a superb performance to eliminate the Netherlands in the last 32, were made to work hard for victory by a Canada side who dominated the early exchanges.
But Morocco made the crucial breakthrough just after half-time when Ounahi swept in a powerful low shot from the edge of the area. Ounahi made victory inevitable eight minutes from time with his second before Rahimi’s late goal on the counter-attack left Canada heading for the tournament exit. “We are very happy,” Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said. “It’s a World Cup match and these are difficult games with teams playing for their lives. Canada were impressive—they played a top match. It was no surprise for us, but in the second half we were able to profit from the space they left us.”
Morocco are the first African nation to reach the quarter-finals in back-to-back World Cups, providing yet further evidence of the team’s emergence among the world’s elite footballing nations. “We’re no longer a surprise today and that’s a great source of pride,” Ouahbi said. “I think this is only the beginning and I hope we’ll keep producing this kind of run for many years.” Canada coach Jesse Marsch said he believed his team had been the superior side but paid the price for poor finishing. “We were the better team,” Marsch said. “It’s just they had a bit of quality in the final third and we lacked the ability to make a play when we needed to.”
Saturday’s games kicked off the round of 16 as the tournament reaches its final stages. On Sunday, England face Mexico at the Estadio Azteca in a much-anticipated encounter while Brazil take on Norway at East Rutherford in New Jersey.
© 2024 AFP
