France edged past Paraguay 1–0 on Saturday to book its place in the quarterfinals, all thanks to a clinical penalty kick from captain Kylian Mbappé.Les Bleus were the heavy favorites coming into the World Cup round of 16 clash, but it was anything but an easy evening for Didier Deschamps’s men. They were utterly befuddled by Paraguay’s physical low block, so much so that they did not manage a shot on target in the first half of the game. France came out of the tunnel more aggressive, but still had no answers worthy of getting on the scoresheet. The suffocating heat in Philadelphia did the 2018 world champions no favors, but Désiré Doué eventually unlocked the game.The 21-year-old used his silky feet to win his side a penalty that Mbappé dispatched in the 70th minute, ultimately securing France’s place in the quarterfinals, where it will face Morocco on July 9. The Moment That Changed the GameDésiré Doué (center) won the penalty kick that sent France to the quarterfinals. | Maurice Van Steen/ANP/Getty ImagesAfter 60 minutes at Lincoln Financial Field, everything was going to plan for Paraguay. The CONMEBOL side was suffocating France with its low block, not giving Deschamps’s elite attackers any room to operate. Combined with their tactical fouls disrupting the flow of play, La Albirroja had control despite seeing so little of the ball.Les Bleus were desperate for a spark, a breath of creativity to find an opening, and Doué answered the call. The PSG winger, who was overlooked for Bradley Barcola in Deschamps’s XI, came onto the pitch in the 61st minute. Four minutes later, he won his side a penalty. Doué drove into the box, dancing past two defenders before Gustavo Gómez came barreling in and took him to ground with a clumsy challenge. After a quick VAR review, the referee pointed to the spot.Mbappé stepped up from 13 yards out and buried the game’s only goal. Without that momentary lapse in judgement from Gómez, Paraguay could very well have taken France to extra time and possibly a penalty shootout, like it did to Germany in the round of 32. WIN FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™ FINAL TICKETS & OTHER PRIZESCompete against the world. | Sports IllustratedFrance Player Ratings vs. Paraguay (4-2-3-1)Kylian Mbappé has now scored seven goals at the 2026 World Cup. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated*Ratings Provided by FotMob*GK: Mike Maignan—8.2: Played Mbappé through on goal with a sensational goal kick that should have earned him an assist. Only had to make one save. RB: Jules Koundé—7.6: Had time and space going forward while defenders focused on Dembélé, but struggled to capitalize. Never looked capable of producing a moment worthy of besting Paraguay’s low block. CB: Dayot Upamecano—8.3: Calmly stepped up to help France maintain near-constant possession. Didn’t give Julio Enciso space to breathe, especially in transition. CB: William Saliba—7.4: Hardly had to stray inside his own half for most of the match. Did his job when called into action in another game where he worked exceptionally well alongside Upamecano.LB: Lucas Digne—7.8: Happy to let Barcola and Mbappé—and eventually Doué—take the reigns down the left. His crosses, though, left plenty to be desired. CM: Manu Koné—7.9: Brought some much needed physicality to give France some bite in midfield. Hardly put a foot wrong with the ball at his feet and was unafraid to let some decent shots rip.CM: Adrien Rabiot—7.4: Unleashed frustrated strikes from distance that had Deschamps angrily getting up from his seat. Careless at times in possession. RW: Ousmane Dembélé—6.6: Uncharacteristically lacked chemistry with his fellow attackers. Delivered poor service from the corner flag and ended his appearance without a single shot on goal. An outing to forget. AM: Michael Olise—7.2: Always one step ahead, sometimes to his team’s detriment. Had a nightmare statistically and created just one chance in the dying stages in a game France was desperate for creativity.LW: Bradley Barcola—7.0: Active down the left in the early stages, but missing the end product. Virtually disappeared as the game went on and was unsurprisingly pulled at the hour-mark.ST: Kylian Mbappé—8.2: Came through from the spot to score his seventh goal of the tournament. Otherwise, frustrated by a pesky Paraguay defense. Stuck in wrestling matches on set pieces and on the counter attack, not that the referee cared. SUB: Désiré Doué (61’ for Barcola)—7.5: Showed off his silky moves as soon as he came on and won a penalty for his side just minutes later. SUB: Rayan Cherki (84’ for Dembélé)—N/ASubs not used: Brice Samba (GK), Robin Risser (GK), Ibrahima Konaté, Lucas Hernández, Malo Gusto, Maxence Lacroix, Theo Hernández, Aurélien Tchouaméni, N’Golo Kanté, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Maghnes Akliouche, Marcus Thuram, Jean-Philippe Mateta. What the Ratings Tell UsOusmane Dembélé had a game to forget. | Buda Mendes/Getty ImagesWho else but Kylian Mbappé to step up when France needed a big goal in the second half? The forward was cool as you like from the spot to bury the penalty kick that won his side the game, proving once again that the world stage is his favorite stage. He now is level with Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race and is hunting him down as the World Cup’s all-time leading goalscorer despite playing in three less editions than the Argentine. The pressure was on Manu Koné to replace the injured Aurélien Tchouaméni in midfield. The 25-year-old did his job and then some, acting as a disrupter in transition and impressing with his physicality. He also took care of the ball and knew when to simply lay it off to his teammates and let them go to work. After scoring a brilliant hat trick against Norway, Ousmane Dembélé had seemingly overcome his previous struggles while donning the France crest. Yet against Sweden and now Paraguay, the Frenchman was held silent. With Mbappé on his team, he doesn’t need to score in droves and instead can just play facilitator. But in matches where the Real Madrid star can’t get going, Dembélé needs to be the player to step up and take over. It did not cost Les Bleus on Saturday, but it just might going forward against a tougher opponent. The Numbers That Explain France’s Hard-Fought VictoryLes Bleus mustered 15 shots against Paraguay, but only five were on target. They spent most of the game delivering frustrated shots from distance that Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill happily watched sail over his goal. France had 12 corner kicks, the most in a game during its World Cup run this summer. Yet it could not capitalize, largly in part due to lackluster service from Dembélé.Paraguay was playing for extra time and penalties. The team was content to sit back and defend, even if it meant hardly touching the ball. By the time the final whistle sounded, the hosts had completed just 99 passes. StatisticParaguayFrancePosession24%76%xG0.151.36Total Shots515Shots on Target15Big Chances 02Pass Accuracy54%90%Fouls1311Corners212READ THE LATEST WORLD CUP NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow