After a 1-0 win in Saturday's match against Paraguay, France will take on Morocco for the second consecutive World Cup. In 2022 in Qatar, they met to contest a place in the final. Four years later in the United States, they will play for a place in the semi-finals.
On Saturday at the Philadelphia Stadium, France skipper Kylian Mbappé scored in the 70th minute from the penalty spot against Paraguay to send France into the quarter-final.
The kick was awarded after Diego Gomez felled Désiré Doué in the penalty area.
“We knew what kind of match it was going to be,” Mbappé said after the game in which he scored his seventh goal at the 2026 tournament to draw level with the Argentina skipper Lionel Messi at the top of the scoring charts.
'Ready for ugly football'
“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 coach Didier Deschamps said he feared Paraguay would target his captain.
"It wasn't easy," said the 57-year-old. "They used every trick in the book. It is not the kind of football that will bring people to the stadium, but they defended well. It is always difficult against these South American teams.
"I asked the two biggest lads to go and stand around Kylian at the end because they were going to chop him down."
The tie was played against the backdrop of a severe heat warning from the US National Weather Service.
Sprinklers showered the field during the breaks for the players to take drinks as well as at half time when fans fled to the concourse of the stadium to evade the sweltering conditions.
Paraguay, who eliminated Germany in the last 32, were trying to reach the quarter finals for the second time in nine apperances.
“Without that penalty, we would have taken it to extra time,” said goalkeeper Orlando Gill.
"We are leaving with our heads held high. We did very well in the first half, we were avoiding all of the throughballs.
"It was unfortunate there was a penalty, but football is like this."
Morocco rendez-vous
Morocco advanced the the last eight after outclassing co-hosts Canada 3-0 in Houston.
Azzedine Ounahi scored twice and Soufiane Rahimi added the third in second half stoppage time to take Morocco through to the last eight for the second consecutive tournament.
