Victorious Mbappe levels Messi in World Cup golden boot race, did Paraguay’s tactics go too far?

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Kylian Mbappe moved level with Lionel Messi for most goals at this World Cup by scoring his seventh of the tournament with a penalty to defeat a fierce Paraguay side who made life very difficult for France in the extreme heat of Philadelphia.

The game kicked off in about 100F (about 38C), with conditions even warmer on the field, and it made for a slow start, with France’s first shot not coming for 22 minutes, the longest wait for an attempt in a World Cup knockout match since Opta records dating back to 1966 began, and neither side hitting the target.

Matias Galarza raised temperatures further when he struck Mbappe in the chest off the ball. The two sides had already squared up over a foul on the France captain earlier in the half but Ilgiz Tantashev opted not to take any action and VAR did not intervene.

Paraguay continued to play aggressively and held out for over an hour until Diego Gomez fouled Desire Doue in the box. Tantashev was sent to the screen to review the incident and, after awarding a penalty, Mbappe rolled in his seventh goal of the tournament.

Philadelphia is know as the birthplace of America and on the day it celebrated 250 years of independence, the match was preceded by elaborate celebrations, fireworks and a flypast.

There was little in the way of excitement in either penalty box, with Paraguay’s first shot on target coming after 89 minutes.

More surprisingly, they ended the game with no yellow cards, picking up their first after the final whistle of a tempestuous match. France finished the game with three. Speaking on the BBC, the former England goalkeeper Joe Hart called Paraguay’s players an “absolute disgrace”.

France, after winning 1-0, will play Morocco in Boston in July 9 in the quarter-finals, with the winner facing the winner of Portugal vs Spain or U.S. vs Belgium.

Here The Athletic’s Adam Crafton, Stuart James, Thom Harris, Sebastian Stafford-Bloor and Amy Lawrence break down the key talking points.

Did Paraguay cross the line?

Paraguay’s tactics were clear: low block, defend in numbers, frustrate France and, when the opportunity arises, get under their skin. Some might call it intimidation, others would use the word provocation.

Either way, Paraguay were intent on knocking France out of their stride by not just defending for their lives but also by pushing the boundaries when it comes to the laws of the game.

When Andres Cubas brought down Kylian Mbappe in the first half with a foul from behind, both players pushed each other in the chest and a melee followed. That flashpoint had been coming. Paraguay were playing right on the edge — and stepping over it at times, arguably taking advantage of the fact that the threshold for intervention from officials is limited at this World Cup.

There was another strange incident a couple of moments later. As Ousmane Dembele broke away on the right, Mbappe was knocked to the floor off the ball by Galarza. The Paraguayan midfielder looked across at Mbappe before raising his right arm, seemingly in full view of the referee. It wasn’t a sending off but it was a cynical and deliberate act and went unpunished.

Curiously, the Uzbek referee Tantashev seemed reluctant to show any yellow cards to the Paraguayan players and only awarded a penalty to France after VAR intervened following a foul on Doue. What followed was in keeping with everything that had gone before as Gustavo Velazquez, the Paraguayan defender, shamelessly scuffed the penalty spot. Unperturbed, Mbappe still converted.

Stuart James

Was the penalty the correct decision?

That Paraguay managed not to receive a yellow card until after the final whistle was, among many others, one of the more staggering statistics from this World Cup so far.

There was nothing contentious about the decision that decided the game. Doue was too quick and too skilful for Gomez, who made thudding knee-on-knee contact with the French winger as he slalomed through the box and clearly brought him down. The Paraguayans surrounded the officials, howling about a dive, but there was not the vaguest suggestion that Doue had gone down easily or exaggerated his fall.

Perhaps — perhaps — it could be argued that he had left his leg in the right place and invited contact, as Harry Kane did against DR Congo in England’s game a few days ago, but the VAR review could not possibly have led to any other outcome. Even for this referee, who had, only seconds before, waved away a very similar challenge on Doue outside the area, from which he harshly told the Paris Saint-Germain forward to “get up”.

Astonishing. But the penalty? Absolutely correct.

What happened after was shameful. Penalty spot scuffing has become regrettably commonplace in football, in leagues all over the world, but it’s way beyond gamesmanship and deserves proper sanction.

Sebastian Stafford-Bloor

How did Mbappe have the last laugh?

A team of players less experienced in the nuances of intense competition might have been drawn into a self-destructive reaction.

This last 32 match was a test of mental strength and composure as much as any tactical or technical question. France ensured they came up with the right answer. And didn’t Kylian Mbappe enjoy it.

He literally had the last laugh, dispatching the penalty to crack such a tense game open, then smirking in the faces of opponents whose approach was relentlessly snide. Mbappe enjoyed the best possible riposte – just smile, and enjoy the moral high ground.

There was something horribly familiar for Didier Deschamps in the French dugout as this game began to take shape. Back in 1998, en route to their first World Cup triumph, France faced Paraguay in the first knockout round of the tournament. It was attritional, edgy, and a worrisome match in which Les Bleus wondered if they would ever fashion a breakthrough as they probed and battled their own frustration, as well as a fiercely resistant opponent.

Amy Lawrence

Have we seen this before?

France were unable to click into the freestyle attack that has been a hallmark of this World Cup as they hit this red-and-white-striped wall of tackles and digs and nudges, and a well-manned block.

Deschamps was the French captain in 1998, and endeavoured to keep his team pushing until they finally cracked the case with a golden goal supplied by their centre back Laurent Blanc in extra time. Oh, the relief.

France’s current vintage have broader and brighter attacking options than the 1998 team. If the first-choice selection are not having their best day, the cavalry in reserve bring fresh excellence. Doue made the difference. He had three Paraguay players closing in as he bobbed and weaved into the penalty area before he was tripped for the decisive penalty.

Mbappe had to deal with Paraguayan gamesmanship before he was able to plant the ball past Orlando Gill. Deschamps watched on, quietly confident France would again find a way.

Their restraint, under so much provocation, was impressive.

Amy Lawrence

How was America’s 250th birthday celebrated?

July 4 marked the United States’ 250th anniversary and to mark the occasion, FIFA organized a ceremony before the match between France and Paraguay kicked off in Philadelphia.

Philly is the birthplace of the United States, having been the location of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Neither President Donald Trump, who is yet to attend a World Cup game, nor FIFA President Gianni Infantino were in attendance for the game.

On this occasion, FIFA produced a tasteful and unifying display of patriotism which included a pitchwide unfurling of the red, white and blue colors of the United States, before local representation came from the Philadelphia-founded hip-hop band The Roots and the Philadelphia Boys Choice & Corale.

The national anthem was performed by Tony Award winning Broadway star Idina Mezel and a fly-past by the VFA-11 and VFA-81 squadrons from the Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach.

Adam Crafton

Tactically, how did Paraguay hold out so long?

Gustavo Alfaro’s side saw just 20 per cent of the ball throughout an arduous first half in the baking sun. They didn’t take a single touch in the opposition box and completed just two of their 17 passes into the attacking third, unable to make the ball stick up the pitch and escape from their deep defensive shape. But unlike Sweden in the last round, they emerged from the opening 45 minutes relatively unscathed.

France’s first shot on goal came after 23 minutes, a speculative effort from Manu Kone on the edge of the box. Soon, Adrien Rabiot was trying his luck from distance, then Kone again, then Rabiot once more. It took Mbappe over an hour to succumb to frustration and blast over from well over 30 yards.

Though Paraguay offered little going forward themselves, they were solid in their deep 5-4-1 shape, a slight tweak from the 4-4-2 that was pulled apart by the United States. They were much more aggressive — more like their usual selves — than throughout that opening-day defeat, with individuals always prepared to jump out of the back five to track runners and snap at the heels of dangerous creative players whenever they found pockets of space. Grizzled centre-backs Gustavo Gomez and Velazquez relished the challenge, and fired-up left-back Juan Caceres made a point of celebrating every tackle with a battle cry.

Before the round of 16, the three players with the most direct defensive pressures applied in the entire tournament were Paraguayan — midfielders Cubas, Galarza and full-back Caceres. Despite the sweltering conditions, that commitment and energy to engage with France’s superstars was on show once again.

Alfaro’s side were eventually undone after a clumsy tackle in the penalty area, a gutting way for their staunch defensive resistance to be undone, but Paraguay deserve credit for a gritty, if at times ugly, display that kept the overwhelming tournament favourites quiet for longer than anyone else.

Thom Harris

What could France have done differently?

Make no mistake, finding a way through a deep defensive block like this is not easy, even with the quality of players at France’s disposal. Space is at a premium and the ability to find forward passes into the penalty area is significantly reduced.

The heat may have played a part but France lacked a little dynamism with their off-ball running. Full-backs were hesitant to overlap, and midfielders did not often make in-to-out runs from deep to take central defenders into wide areas and away from the box. Frustration clearly got the better of France as they started to take aim from distance — 10 of their 12 shots from open play came from outside the box.

The good news for Deschamps is that his side are unlikely to face a challenge quite like this again. Morocco will leave more spaces in behind as they attack through adventurous full-backs, while semi-final opponents will be much more ambitious than this Paraguayan side who dug in and looked to get under France’s skin.

Thom Harris

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