Joe Hart Slams Paraguay’s Performance. In order to maintain their hopes of winning the trophy they last took home in 2018, France had to come up with a fresh strategy after destroying everything in their path throughout this World Cup. They worked hard to defeat Paraguay 1-0.
Neutrals were won over by Paraguay after they shocked everyone by eliminating Germany on penalties in the round of 32.
However, they displayed their ugly side during a tense game in the oppressive Philadelphia heat.
After bumping into Adrien Rabiot, Andres Cubas managed to avoid being booked. Additionally, Juan Jose Caceres’ kick to Kylian Mbappe went unpunished.
Surprisingly, not a single Paraguayan player received a ticket, despite Les Bleus players Manu Kone, Bradley Barcola, and Michael Olise receiving warnings. Not even when Paraguay was chasing the game and Gabriel Avalos elbowed Dayot Upamecano in the stomach. “It was embarrassing to witness,” former England defender Micah Richards told BBC One. “Paraguay are better than that.” They did not need to engage in these pranks because their defense was so strong.”
France’s win guaranteed them a quarterfinal matchup with Morocco on Thursday at Boston Stadium (kickoff at 21:00 BST).
Diego Gomez’s attempt to pull down Desire Doue by sticking out his leg with twenty minutes remaining was the pivotal moment. The incident was evaluated by referee Ilgiz Tantashev, whose overall performance was heavily criticized for being too poor.
Gustavo Velazquez attempted to scuff the penalty spot before Mbappe scored his eighth goal in the tournament to tie Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot. Despite this, Paraguay’s players mobbed the Uzbek referee in an effort to postpone the penalty kick.
“There were some insults from the opposing bench we could have done without,” Didier Deschamps, the manager of France, stated during a subsequent press conference.
“Paraguay tried to wind up the France players, tiny shoves and nudges but not enough to gain a yellow card,” former Scotland winger Pat Nevin told PBH Radio 5 Live of the altercation that broke out even after the full-time whistle as Velazquez sought to confront the French players.
What “dirty tricks” did Paraguay employ?
Joe Hart Slams Paraguay’s Performance. Before Kylian Mbappe’s penalty, Gustavo Velazquez attempted to scuff it up with a penalty kick.
Dayot Upamecano was struck in the ribs by an elbow.
Jules Kounde’s cheek was touched by Matias Galarza.
When Michael Olise grabbed Galarza’s shirt to book him, he fell.
Andres Cubas went through Adrien Rabiot with a bad tackle
They expected us to arrive in tuxedos.
With 19 goals in 19 tournament games, Mbappe is just one goal behind Messi on the all-time list of World Cup goal scorers.
Amazingly, Mbappe has scored more goals in the World Cup knockout stages (11) since 2018 than Brazil (10), England (10), Portugal (9), and Spain (4).
With no attempts on goal in the first half, it appeared to be a difficult match for France and their captain.
This encounter is remembered as one of the hottest World Cup games ever because of the intense heat. According to the National Weather Service’s official page, the temperature at kickoff was 38.3C.
The Republic of Ireland’s 1994 World Cup match against Mexico in Florida set the mark at 43C.
“We know how to play nasty Football,” Mabppe said later. “They [Paraguay] assumed we would turn up in tuxedos, but we were ready.” Nevertheless, France managed to overcome the heat and Paraguay’s brutal tactics. Even at that game, we were better than them.
“There is no right or wrong way to play Football in their manner. They attempted to defeat us in this manner, but we prevailed.
As Paraguay looked for a way back into the game, Deschamps, who is now the first coach to win ten World Cup knockout games, disclosed that he had told his team to protect Mbappe in the last moments.
It was not simple. “I requested the two largest boys to go and stand around Kylian at the finish because they were going to hack him down,” Deschamps continued. They employ every tactic known to man. They played good defense, but it is hardly the sort of game that would draw spectators to the stadium. These South American teams are often challenging to defeat.
“I admire how Mbappe has behaved in this game,” Hart continued. “The Paraguay players have came for him from minute one.” Despite being targeted from the beginning, Mbappe maintained his composure and responded to Paraguay’s provocation by mocking their tactics on the field. He was permitted to act haughtily while he was making fun of the players. “I would never want to play football that way.” Under no circumstances did the referee assist. It is incredible that not a single Paraguayan was booked within the allotted ninety minutes.
Former Germany player Thomas Hitzlsperger told PBH One that he had “no regard” for Paraguay because of their actions. “If you are from Paraguay, you probably enjoy the squad – they are like warriors,” he continued.
“If you are French or neutral, you can have no regard for them any more. This is considerably worse than disgusting.
France can go to war and play great football
The Paraguay match demonstrated the team’s ability to overcome provocation to win games, according to Rayan Cherki, a striker for Manchester City of France.
“We anticipated it was going to be a highly contested encounter,” he continued.
“But it was crucial to us to play a game like this during the World Cup – to show everyone that the French squad can play beautiful Football, but can also go to war.”
William Saliba claimed that after watching recordings of their prior games, Les Bleus were prepared for Paraguay.
“They were going to come at us hard, commit fouls, and attempt to irritate us,” the Arsenal defender, who won the Premier League, continued.
“Things would not go well if we started squandering energy, arguing, and losing focus, so we had to stay in the game.” We have been accustomed to scoring three goals since the beginning of the tournament, but sometimes it feels wonderful to win a difficult game like this. “Today, it was a 1-0 win, but it is just as significant.”
Joe Hart Slams Paraguay’s Performance
Analysis of the referee’s several missed fouls
The 2026 World Cup has been distinguished by officiating that has attempted to encourage an unrestricted game.
For Ilgiz Tantashev, however, things did not work out.
Tantashev ought to have known exactly how Paraguay would play—tough tackling and an attempt to restrict France’s freedom of movement.
The Uzbek referee ought to have intervened sooner, demonstrated his power, and made it clear that the aggressive behavior would not be accepted.
Watch how Michael Oliver handled Canada’s match against Morocco in the previous round of 16 on Saturday, issuing six yellow cards before halftime. After that, the game slowed down, with just two games remaining in the second half.
In Philadelphia, the opposite occurred.
It is untrue to say that France committed 11 fouls while Paraguay committed 13.
The referee overlooked many tactical and off-ball infractions committed by the South American squad.
Surprisingly, not a single Paraguayan player received a booking. However, three French people were.
Thanks to the penalty given by VAR rather than the referee, France advances.
