Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app.Kylian Mbappe moved level with Lionel Messi for most goals at this World Cup by scoring his seventh of the tournament with a penalty to defeat a fierce Paraguay side who made life very difficult for France in the extreme heat of Philadelphia.The game kicked off in about 100F (about 38C) with conditions even warmer on the field and it made for a slow start, with France’s first shot not coming for 22 minutes and neither side hitting the target.Matias Galarza raised temperatures further when he struck Mbappe in the chest off the ball. The two sides had already squared up over a foul on the France captain earlier in the half but Ilgiz Tantashev opted not to take any action and VAR did not intervene.The referee intervenes as Mbappe is roughed up(Photo: FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images)Paraguay continued to play aggressively and held out for over an hour until Diego Gomez fouled Desire Doue in the box. Tantashev was sent to the screen to review the incident and after awarding a penalty, Mbappe rolled in his seventh goal of the tournament.Philadelphia is know as the birthplace of America and on the day it celebrated 250 years of independence, the match was preceded by elaborate celebrations, fireworks and a flypast.There was little in the way of excitement in either penalty box, with Paraguay’s first shot on target coming after 89 minutes.More surprising they ended the game with no yellow cards. Picking up their first after the final whistle of a tempestuous match. France finished the game with three. Speaking on the BBC, the former England goalkeeper Joe Hart called Paraguay’s players an “absolute disgrace”.France, after winning 1-0, will play Morocco in Boston in July 9 in the quarter-finals, with the winner facing the winner of Portugal vs Spain or U.S. vs Belgium.Here The Athletic’s Adam Crafton, Stuart James, Thom Harris, Sebastian Stafford-Bloor and Amy Lawrence break down the key talking points.Did Paraguay cross the line?Paraguay’s tactics were clear: low block, defend in numbers, frustrate France and, when the opportunity arises, get under their skin. Some might call it intimidation, others would use the word provocation.Either way, Paraguay were intent on knocking France out of their stride by not just defending for their lives but also by pushing the boundaries when it comes to the laws of the game.When Andres Cubas brought down Kylian Mbappe in the first half with a foul from behind, both players pushed each other in the chest and a melee followed. That flashpoint had been coming. Paraguay were playing right on the edge — and stepping over it at times, arguably taking advantage of the fact that the threshold for intervention from officials is limited at this World Cup.There was another strange incident a couple of moments later. As Ousmane Dembele broke away on the right, Mbappe was knocked to the floor off the ball by Matias Galarza. The Paraguayan midfielder looked across at Mbappe before raising his right arm, seemingly in full view of the referee. It wasn’t a sending off but it was a cynical and deliberate act and went unpunished.Curiously, the Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev seemed reluctant to show any yellow cards to the Paraguayan players and only awarded a penalty to France after VAR intervened following a foul on Desire Doue. What followed was in keeping with everything that had gone before as Gustavo Velazquez, the Paraguayan defender, shamelessly scuffed the penalty spot. Unperturbed, Mbappe still converted.Stuart JamesWas the penalty the correct decision?That Paraguay managed not to receive a yellow card until after the final whistle was, among many others, one of the more staggering statistics from this World Cup so far.