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2026 FIFA World Cup
18JUL

Mbappe penalty puts France in last eight

2 min read
13:09UTC

Kylian Mbappe converted a 70th-minute penalty to beat Paraguay 1-0 in Philadelphia, his seventh goal of the tournament.

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SportDeveloping
Key takeaway

Mbappe's seventh goal, a VAR penalty, carries France into a quarter-final against Morocco.

France beat Paraguay 1-0 at Philadelphia Stadium on Saturday 4 July, Kylian Mbappe converting a 70th-minute penalty awarded after a VAR (Video Assistant Referee) review of a foul on Desire Doue 1. It was Mbappe's seventh goal of the tournament.

France had come through the round of 32 with a comfortable win over Sweden , and reached the quarter-finals without the sharpest football of their run to the 2022 final. Paraguay, who had knocked out Germany on penalties to get this far , held France until the review settled it on 70 minutes, then chased an equaliser they could not find.

Mbappe's goal points France at Morocco, the side they knocked out at the same stage four years ago. France now stand between Morocco and the reversal it has waited for since.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

VAR stands for Video Assistant Referee. It lets off-field officials review footage and tell the referee if they have missed a foul, which is how Doue's fall in the box became a penalty on review rather than waved away in real time. Mbappe then had to convert it under pressure, which he did. Neither side had created much else in the match, so one video review and one penalty kick decided who reaches the quarter-finals.

Deep Analysis
Root Causes

The penalty itself traces to personnel rather than fortune: Kylian Mbappe and Desire Doue are among Ligue 1's most-fouled dribblers this season, both quick enough in the box to draw last-ditch contact, which structurally produces more marginal penalty appeals than a build-up style based on combination passing.

Deschamps' preference for pace over central creativity narrows France's route to goal to exactly these individual carries, so when a game is closed down, as Paraguay closed this one, the team has few alternative ways through and depends on a single moment to settle it.

Sources:CNN
Mentions:France →Paraguay →Kylian Mbappé →VAR →Philadelphia →Michigan →Didier Deschamps →University of Michigan →Germany →Sweden →Morocco →Spain →World Cup →Argentina →Désiré Doué →
First Reported In

Update #34 · Morocco knock out Canada, draw France again

CNN· 5 Jul 2026
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Causes and effects
Caused by
France and Norway cruise into last 16
France beat Sweden in the round of 32 before beating Paraguay to reach the quarter-finals.
Occurred 29 Jun 2026
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This Event
Mbappe penalty puts France in last eight
France reach the last eight and now block Morocco's path to avenging the 2022 semi-final.
Led to
Morocco meet France in 2022 rematch
France's win over Paraguay fixed the other half of the first confirmed quarter-final.
Occurred 4 Jul 2026
Read story →
Different Perspectives
Spain
Spain
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Falkland Islands Government Office
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FIFA
FIFA
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England and the UK Government
England and the UK Government
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Argentina
Argentina
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France
France
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