Mbappe accuses Paraguay of 'dirty football' after France survive bruising World Cup clash

Kylian Mbappe scored the decisive penalty and then accused Paraguay of playing ‘dirty football’ as France ground out a 1-0 World Cup Round of 32 victory in Philadelphia, booking their place in the quarter-finals.

The Real Madrid striker converted a second-half spot-kick to settle a match that was defined less by quality than by Paraguay’s physical and provocative approach. Paraguay had already stunned Germany in the previous round, and arrived with an apparent gameplan to bully Didier Deschamps’ side — targeting Mbappe in particular with a series of heavy challenges and attempts to goad him into retaliation in the closing stages.

Mbappe was unrepentant in his post-match assessment. “We knew what kind of match we were going to have,” he told RMC Sport. “If we have to get our hands dirty, we know how to do it. We know how to play dirty football. They thought we were going to come and play in tuxedos, but we were there. Even in that game, we were better than them. That’s their football; there’s no right or wrong way to play football. They tried to get us that way, but we won.”

Despite the relentless physical pressure France endured, referee Ilgiz Tantashev showed remarkable leniency throughout. In a notable irony, France finished the game with more yellow cards than Paraguay, who escaped without a single booking.

Defender William Saliba confirmed that the French camp had been well-prepared for what was coming. “The coach warned us two or three days before to stay focused on the game,” Saliba said. “He showed us some videos. They were going to get in our faces, commit fouls, provoke us. We had to stay focused on the game because if we started to lose energy, get confused and lose our focus, it wasn’t going to work. So, we stayed focused.”

Saliba also drew satisfaction from the manner of the win, noting that France had grown accustomed to more comfortable victories during the tournament. “It’s not easy and it also feels good sometimes to win hard-fought matches like this because since the start of the competition, we’ve been used to scoring three. Today, it’s a 1-0 victory, but it has the same merit.”

The result keeps Mbappe level at the top of the tournament’s scoring charts as France advance to the last eight.