The breakthrough finally came when Paraguay's Diego Gomez brought down substitute Desire Doue inside the box. After a lengthy VAR review, referee Ilgiz Tantashev pointed to the spot and Kylian Mbappe did the rest, converting calmly for the only goal in a 1-0 France win.

France's Rayan Cherki also stated that Paraguay wanted to 'wage war' in their Round-of-16 matchup in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Kylian Mbappe put France through to the World Cup quarter-final with a second-half penalty before tensions boiled over at full-time against Paraguay. Goalkeeper Orlando Gill threw the match ball at the Les Bleus captain after claiming his handshake was ignored,

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kylian Mbappé laughed and smiled — and scored, of course — when Paraguay tried to bait him and his French teammates into fouls and provoke fights, as hot heads became a recurring theme during one of the steamiest World Cup games on record.

Will Kylian Mbappe lift France to the quarterfinals? Follow for live updates.

Now 250 years later, on the fourth of July and in the city of Philadelphia where the Declaration of Independence was signed, France used that as a motivator and, through hard work and perseverance, it came out victorious against a stubborn Paraguay with a hard-fought 1-0 win thanks to Kylian Mbappé's penalty shot.

Ester Exposito, the girlfriend of France soccer star Kylian Mbappe, posted a pink outfit before France's July 4 World Cup game against Paraguay.

What makes this summer so unusual is football's biggest names have not just come to the party; they have dominated it, too

Egypt’s coaching staff utilised meticulous modern analytical methods to mastermind their historic World Cup knockout triumph over Australia in Dallas. Minutes before the penalty shootout commenced, players gathered around a laptop screen to study specific footage of Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe facing Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan.