Mbappe settles battle of wills as France edge resilient Paraguay into quarters

For 70 minutes, Paraguay looked capable of producing another World Cup shock. They absorbed wave after wave of French pressure, frustrated Kylian Mbappe and company, and turned the Round of 16 clash into a battle of patience under the blazing heat. But when the decisive moment arrived, France’s talisman stepped forward. Mbappe calmly dispatched a penalty after Desire Doue was fouled inside the box, handing Didier Deschamps’ side a gritty 1-0 victory and a place in the quarter-finals against Morocco.

It was a win built less on flair than persistence, with France forced to grind down one of the tournament’s most stubborn opponents before Mbappe’s seventh goal of the World Cup finally settled an absorbing knockout contest.

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