PHILADELPHIA (AP) — In the last 2026 World Cup match in Philadelphia, Paraguay played a style that has been seen many times before at the city’s football stadium.La Albirroja’s physical approach in their 1-0 loss to France in the Round of 16 looked more like what might be seen on a Sunday in the fall from the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, who play their home games at Lincoln Financial Field.Eagles coach Nick Siranni might have liked what he saw. Les Bleus sure didn’t.“I had never played a match like this, with so many hits,” France midfielder Manu Koné said. “I mean, cheap shots, shoves in the back. So, yes, it was complicated.”Paraguay seemed to target star forward Kylian Mbappé, who converted a penalty kick in the 70th minute.Andrés Cubas grabbed Mbappé in the offensive third, resulting in mass confrontation in the 35th minute. Later in the first half, Matias Galarza made contact with Mbappé off the ball, sending him sprawling to the turf. And in the 77th minute, Juan José Cáceres kicked the France forward in the right shin. None of these fouls resulted in yellow cards.
In fact, France received the only three yellow cards issued during the match. Paraguay got one after the final whistle for dissent toward the referee.
