After the game, Mbappe said, ”We knew what the game would be like. But we are happy with our performance. We can play dirty and maybe that's how we played today.”
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France struggled to beat Paraguay 1-0 in their World Cup last-16 match on Saturday, but captain Kylian Mbappe was happy with his team's journey. The match itself was tense. Mbappe scored a penalty in the 70th minute to give France the win. His goal tally at the tournament reached seven, taking his total to 19. He was surrounded by Paraguayan defenders and could not play as openly as he usually does. After the match, Mbappe said, "We knew what the game was going to be like. But we are happy with our performance. We can play dirty and maybe we played like that today, and the victory was ours." There is respect for Paraguay, but we were a good team in this game.'
Real Madrid forward Mbappe added, 'What this game has proven is that the French team does not only know how to attack. Whenever dirty play is necessary, we are ready to play like that. I would like to apologize for the word dirty play, but we have no problem with it.'
The game was tense, but all three yellow cards shown went to French players. Tensions between the two teams increased when Mbappe was about to take a penalty. He did not miss that opportunity.
France will now face Morocco in the quarter-finals in Boston on Thursday. After the game, French coach Didier Deschamps claimed that his team played calmly. He admitted that the Paraguayan team's style was aggressive. The game was not easy for either of them.
‘It was definitely not an easy game . Paraguay played the way they can on the field . There was more aggression in it,’ he added.
France had scored 13 goals against their opponents before this match but could not repeat the same against Paraguay . However, France also had more control of the ball .
France’s three key players, Michel Aulis, Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Beal, remained quiet . In the process, Paraguay also showed how they managed to beat Germany in the last 32. Deschamps’ analysis was, ‘We focused more on our own game . Paraguay’s defense must have done well .’
Paraguayan coach Gustavo Alfaro responded that his players fought like lions . The coach of the Paraguayan team, playing in their first World Cup since 2010, said, “It took us 16 years to return to the World Cup. But I am proud of the way we have played so far. This World Cup has made Paraguayan football stronger, but the sad thing is that now we have to go home.”
