France advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals after a hard-earned 1-0 victory over Paraguay in a round-of-16 match played under an Extreme Heat Warning in Philadelphia.
The decisive moment came with 20 minutes remaining when Diego Gomez tripped Desire Doue inside the penalty area.
Referee Ilgiz Tantashev awarded a penalty after a pitchside monitor review.
Paraguay players surrounded the official and attempted to scuff the penalty spot before Kylian Mbappe converted the kick.
It was his seventh goal of the tournament, tying Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race.
The match was marked by physical tension, with several unpunished challenges from Paraguay and bookings for French players Manu Kone, Bradley Barcola, and Michael Olise.
Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart strongly criticized Paraguay's behavior. "Paraguay's players were an absolute disgrace," Hart told BBC One.
"If they were on my team, I'd be dragging them off the pitch."
Former England defender Micah Richards echoed those sentiments. "It was embarrassing to see," Richards told BBC One.
He added that Paraguay's defensive structure was effective without the need for disruptions. "Paraguay are better than that.
Defensively they were so good and they didn't need to get into these antics."
French manager Didier Deschamps addressed the opposing team's conduct in his post-match press conference.
"There were some insults from the other bench we could have done without," Deschamps said.
Former Scotland winger Pat Nevin commented on Paraguay's tactical gamesmanship.
"Paraguay tried to wind up the France players, little shoves and nudges but not enough to get a yellow card," Nevin told BBC Radio 5 Live.
He described the tactics as "every single dark art you can use."
French center-back William Saliba offered a different perspective, focusing on Paraguay's defensive resilience. "Today it was not easy for us because we played a strong team.
They were really good at defending and they had chances when they were on the ball.
But we stayed focused defensively and we had to find a way to score in the end. We did well," Saliba said.
Statistical data from the New York Times showed Paraguay failed to register a single shot on target and managed only one shot from inside the French penalty box.
France will face Morocco in the quarterfinals at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Thursday at 4 p. m.
Eastern Time.
