France's Kylian Mbappe during the warm up before the match FIFA World Cup Round of 16 ,match against Paraguay in Philadelphia Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. - July 4, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
Imagn Images via REUTERS
France coach Didier Deschamps made one change to the team that beat Sweden 3-0 in the previous round, bringing Manu Kone into midfield in place of the injured Aurelien Tchouameni for Saturday’s (July 4, 2026) World Cup last-16 clash against Paraguay.Also read | Morocco beat World Cup co-host Canada 3-0 and advances to the quarterfinalsTchouameni out with thigh injury, French sports daily L’Equipe reported on Friday (July 3, 2026).Kone will be paired with Adrien Rabiot behind France’s four-pronged attack.Paraguay line up in likely to be an 5-4-1 ultra defensive formation.The winner will face Morocco in Boston on July 9.Teams:Paraguay - Orlando Gill; Juan Jose Caceres, Gustavo Gomez (captain), Gustavo Velazquez, Omar Alderete, Junior Alonso; Miguel Almiron, Diego Gomez, Andres Cubas, Matias Galarza; Julio EncisoFrance - Mike Maignan; Jules Kounde, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Lucas Digne; Manu Kone, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola; Kylian Mbappe (captain) (Inputs from Reuters)July 05, 2026 01:06 LineupLineups are announced and players are warming up. Published - July 05, 2026 02:09 am IST
