By AP and published by Yahoo!News
PHILADELPHIA: Kylian Mbappé scored his 19th career World Cup goal, and France survived stifling heat to beat Paraguay 1-0 on Saturday (July 4), sending Les Bleus into the quarterfinals for the fourth straight time.
France advanced to play Morocco on Thursday in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
With an extreme heat warning in effect throughout the match as temperatures hovered around 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius), Mbappé 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, whose red, white and blue-clad fans looked plenty patriotic on July Fourth in Philadelphia, where the United States was founded exactly 250 years earlier.
Mbappé was awarded the penalty when Diego Gomez was called for tripping after a video review. Then he stutter-stepped on his way to his 19th goal in 19 World Cup appearances, one behind career record holder Lionel Messi of Argentina. Mbappé and Messi each have seven goals in this tournament to top the Golden Boot race.
Mbappé won that award four years ago in Qatar, but Messi and Argentina beat France in the final.
Mbappé botched a breakaway attempt in the second half, and Manu Koné had his top-corner shot knocked away by goalkeeper Orlando Gill after he was wiped out in the netting by Ousmane Dembélé only moments earlier.
Gill also stopped two strong attempts by Mbappé in second-half stoppage time.
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 on this steamy, sticky day. Sprinklers showered the Kentucky bluegrass field during the breaks and at halftime.
More than in any of the five other World Cup games played before 68,000-plus fans at Lincoln Financial Field, spectators fled for the concourse at halftime, seeking shade and refuge from the sun.
Maybe they were 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 rock fight. Tempers flared when Andrés Cubas took down Mbappé and the teams briefly pushed and shoved each other. Matías Galarza also threw his right elbow into Mbappé and sent him crashing to the grass.
Paraguay advanced by beating Germany in a penalty shootout on Monday, the biggest upset of this World Cup. But after a gritty effort by La Albirroja, it’s France that’s moving on.
After defeating Croatia for the 2018 title, France lost to Argentina on penalty kicks in the 2022 final. Les Bleus are 5-0 in this year’s tournament, outscoring opponents 14-2.
The city soaked in the moment as the 250th anniversary of American independence was celebrated. More fans honoured America — draped in flags or wearing Uncle Sam hats as they tailgated in the parking lot — than at any of the other games in Philadelphia, and Idina Menzel, The Roots and DJ Jazzy Jeff all performed.
Canada’s magical World Cup run ends in a 3-0 loss to Morocco in the round of 16
Canada’s unprecedented run to the World Cup’s round of 16 put the country where hockey is king in the international soccer spotlight.
Now, the challenge is to build on this year’s success.
“It’s a privilege to have a Canadian national team competing on the international level at levels that had never been dreamed of 10 years ago,” coach Jesse Marsch said. “There’s real excitement. With that excitement comes higher expectations, right? So, next World Cup, everyone’s gonna say that anything less than the round of 16 is a failure.”
Canada’s magical World Cup run ended Saturday as Azzedine Ounahi scored twice to lead Morocco to a 3-0 win and make the country the first African nation to reach the quarterfinals more than once.
The loss came after World Cup co-host Canada won its first-ever knockout round with a 1-0 victory over South Africa to reach Saturday’s match. The country, which is 30th in the FIFA rankings, was playing in the World Cup for just the third time and the run had captivated a nation that is normally far more interested in hockey than the pitch.
“Something that’s going to resonate most with this team and the country is that we really proved to everyone what a footballing country Canada is,” defender Alistair Johnston said.
The game was tied at halftime after a first half in which Canada controlled possession.
Neither team was able to break through until Ounahi took a free kick from Achraf Hakimi and made a right-footed shot through traffic from outside the box to the bottom right corner to put Morocco on top 1-0 in the 50th minute.
Ounahi made it 2-0 on a right-footed shot from the middle of the box off a pass from Brahim Díaz in the 82nd minute.
Soufiane Rahimi added a goal in the final minute of stoppage time.
Despite the lopsided score, Marsch thought his team played better than Morocco and shared his postgame message to his players.
“I told them that I was proud of them and I challenged them to understand that we can play like this all the time against the best teams in the world,” he said. “We can be better on the day. And then the challenge is, can we hold that standard for 90 minutes?”
Midfielder Stephen Eustáquio, who scored the only goal in Canada’s win over South Africa, believes the team’s success in this World Cup will build confidence and lead to more success in the future.
“The fact that we were able to be one of the 16 best teams of this World Cup is amazing for the country,” he said. “It’s amazing for this team. But we have to start from there realising that the gap isn’t that big and that we have to fight.”
Canada reached the round of 16 despite missing star Alphonso Davies for the majority of the tournament because of a hamstring injury. The Bayern Munich player logged only 15 minutes as a substitute in the victory over South Africa but wasn’t available Saturday.
Marsch knows there’s still more work to do in terms of continuing to build infrastructure and youth academies in the country to feed talent into the national team.
But that’s for another day. On Saturday, he simply wanted to take a moment to appreciate what his plucky team accomplished this year.
“In terms of the commitment of the group and making the country proud and making the programme proud they couldn’t have done more,” he said. “And in dealing with injuries and question marks and things being unsure on so many different levels, the group stayed strong throughout the tournament.”
CAPTIONS:
Top: France’s Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring from the penalty spot the opening goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, on Saturday, July 4, 2026. Photo – AP /Matt Slocum and published by Yahoo!Sports
First insert: Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron (10) controls the ball as France’s Desire Doue falls during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match in Philadelphia, on Saturday, July 4, 2026. Photo – AP /Petr David Josek and published by Yahoo!Sports
Second insert: Canadian players react as Morocco’s Azzedine Ounahi (8) scores their first goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Canada and Morocco in Houston, on Saturday, July 4, 2026. Photo AP/Ashley Landis and published by Yahoo!Sports
Third insert: Canada’s Alistair Johnston, top, and Morocco’s Azzedine Ounahi vie for the ball during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Canada and Morocco in Houston, on Saturday, July 4, 2026. Photo – AP/Eric Gay and published by Yahoo!Sports
Front Page: France’s Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates his team victory at the end of the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, on Saturday, July 4, 2026. Photo – AP/Martin Meissner and published by Yahoo!Sports
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