Kylian Mbappé stepped up once again when France needed him most. With a penalty kick in the second half, the Real Madrid star set France on the path to a 1-0 victory over Paraguay, securing Les Bleus’ spot in the World Cup quarterfinals—a stage they have now reached for the fourth consecutive tournament.
In a match played amid temperatures nearing 38 degrees Celsius and under an extreme heat warning, the French team didn’t break the deadlock until the 70th minute. VAR intervened to call a penalty after Diego Gómez fouled Désiré Doué, and Mbappé didn’t waste the opportunity, beating goalkeeper Orlando Gill from the penalty spot.
The goal held double significance for the Real Madrid forward. In addition to securing France’s advancement, it marked his 19th World Cup goal, a total that left him just one goal behind Lionel Messi on the tournament’s all-time scoring list.
Mbappé reached that milestone in just 19 World Cup matches and also scored his seventh goal in this tournament, tying Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. If the two finish tied as top scorers, FIFA will use assists as the first tiebreaker and, subsequently, the fewest minutes played. In that category, the Frenchman holds a 2-0 advantage.
Despite the result, Paraguay gave the reigning World Cup runner-up a hard time at various points thanks to an outstanding defensive performance and the saves by Orlando Gill, who prevented a more lopsided defeat. Even in stoppage time, the goalkeeper made two consecutive saves to prevent Mbappé from scoring his 20th World Cup goal.
Before the decisive goal, Mbappé himself had squandered a one-on-one opportunity, while Manu Koné also came close to opening the scoring, but Gill once again stepped up to keep Paraguay’s hopes alive.
With their spot among the tournament’s top eight secured, France will face Morocco next Thursday at Boston Stadium in search of a spot in the semifinals, while Mbappé will continue to pursue two goals: leading his national team to another title and catching up to Messi in World Cup history.
