Mbappé and teammates take jibes at Paraguay, shift focus on Morocco

France players, led by captain Kylian Mbappé, criticised Paraguay’s tactical approach following their fiery FIFA World Cup Round of 16 clash on Saturday in Philadelphia.

Mbappe scored the decisive goal in France’s 1-0 victory, converting a 70th-minute penalty that was awarded after a VAR review. Substitute Desire Doue dribbled past three Paraguay defenders before being brought down inside the penalty area.

"We knew what type of match we were going to have. We showed we are not just a team that knows how to play offensive football. If we have to get our hands dirty, we'll get our hands dirty," Mbappe said after the match.

"They thought we were going to come and play in tuxedos, but we know how to play dirty football too. And we did it today. We won, and even in that, we were better than them," the French captain added.

"It's their football, their way of playing. There is no right or wrong way to play football. There is only one way, and that's to win. They tried to beat us like that, but we beat them like that too," he added after the final whistle while walking past Paraguay players and appearing to ignore goalkeeper Orlando Gill, who offered a handshake.

The 27-year-old, who won his first World Cup during his debut tournament in Russia in 2018 and finished runner-up in Qatar four years later, has now scored 19 goals in 19 World Cup matches across three tournaments.

He is now just one goal behind Lionel Messi, who has scored 20 World Cup goals and has netted seven times in the ongoing tournament.

France, two-time world champions, will now face Morocco in the quarter-finals on Thursday, July 9, in Boston — a repeat of the Qatar 2022 semi-final where goals from Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani secured a 2-0 victory for Les Bleus over the Atlas Lions.

The upcoming clash is expected to be a battle of tactics and individual brilliance. France already showed their ability to handle a physical contest against Paraguay, eventually grinding out a narrow 1-0 win through Mbappe’s penalty.

Morocco, meanwhile, appear balanced with a squad made up of experienced players, emerging talents and newcomers, all eager for revenge when the two sides meet in Boston.