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.
