Mbappe on the spot to force France into quarters

Kylian Mbappe 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.

After the final whistle, Mbappe kept on walking and left Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill hanging, as Gill extended his right hand in a show of sportsmanship.

In response, Gill threw the ball right at the No 10 on Mbappe's jersey.

Mbappe had already got the last laugh though, as he scored his 19th career World Cup goal, and France survived stifling heat to beat Paraguay 1-0 on Saturday, sending Les Bleus into the quarterfinals for the fourth straight time.

"We knew what kind of match it was going to be," Mbappe said afterward. "We can also get our hands dirty, we know how to do it. We know how to play ugly football. Guess they were thinking we were going to show up in tuxedos, but we were ready."

France moves on to a quarterfinal tie on Thursday in Foxborough, Massachusetts, against Morocco, which beat Canada 3-0 in the last 16 earlier Saturday.

That game will be a repeat of the 2022 semifinal which France won 2-0, before it went on to lose the final on penalties to Argentina.

"Morocco are one of the best teams. We played them four years ago in Doha and they also got to the Africa Cup of Nations final," France coach Didier Deschamps said.

He will hope his squad recovers quickly from the Paraguay clash, and that key midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni is back after missing Saturday's game with a thigh injury.

"We have a few days now to recuperate. We have some tired players and a few little knocks too."

With an extreme heat warning in effect throughout the match as temperatures hovered around 38 C, Mbappe finally broke through against a physical, defensive-minded Paraguay side when he converted a penalty kick in the 70th minute. That was enough for Les Bleus.

Mbappe was awarded the penalty when Diego Gomez was pulled up for tripping Desire Doue after a video review.

Mbappe then stutter-stepped his way to a 19th goal in as many World Cup appearances, and one score behind all-time tournament record holder Lionel Messi.

Mbappe and Messi each have seven goals in this tournament, and are joint top in the Golden Boot race.

Mbappe won that award four years ago, despite Messi and Argentina beating France in the final.

Mbappe — who could be seen frequently trash-talking the Paraguayans in Spanish — is now the only player to score at least three knockout-stage goals at three World Cups.

In the second half, Mbappe botched a breakaway attempt, and Manu Kone had his top-corner shot knocked away by Gill.

Gill also stopped two strong attempts by Mbappe in second-half stoppage time.

The 26-year-old Gill had bested German great Manuel Neuer in a penalty shootout in the previous round, beating Germany on June 29 in one of the big upsets of this World Cup.

But, he lost his cool after the loss to France when he chucked the ball at Mbappe.

"I tried to shake his hand, but since he didn't pay me any attention, I lost my temper," Gill said.

"But anyway, that was all I did. I calmed down afterward."

For the criticism that hydration breaks have watered down the pace of play at the World Cup, they were never more needed for the players than in the midst of a scorching heat wave.

Sprinklers showered the Kentucky bluegrass field during the breaks and at halftime.

"Given our style of play, it was harder to produce a high intensity," Deschamps said.

Spectators fled for the concourse at halftime, seeking shade and refuge from the sun.

Or maybe they were just looking for some action of any kind.

Les Bleus scored 13 goals in the first five games of the tournament, but were stymied in the first half by a Paraguay team trying to turn the match into a scrap.

Tempers flared when Andres Cubas took down Mbappe, and the teams briefly pushed and shoved each other.

Matias Galarza also threw his right elbow into Mbappe and sent him crashing to the grass.

Yet, despite the physical, gritty efforts of La Albirroja, it's France that's moving on. Les Bleus are 5-0 in this year's tournament, outscoring their opponents 14-2.

Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro, though, said his side had "fought like lions".

"France couldn't find the answers, and it took a bit of individual skill and a penalty given by VAR to make the difference, which their football had not been able to do," Alfaro said after the game.

"It took us 16 years to get back to a World Cup, while Mbappe won the World Cup the first time he played in it, got to the final in his second and now is fighting to be the top scorer.

"We worked so hard to get a different result, but I will leave here with the knowledge that we came to compete and we did."

Deschamps also chose to dwell on the positives from the occasionally bad-tempered encounter: "As I said to the players, we've had easy games so far, so it is good to have a tough one."

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