FIFA World Cup: Mbappe again creates panic, France enters quarter-finals by defeating Paraguay

Philadelphia. France’s star striker Kylian Mbappe continues to perform brilliantly in the FIFA World Cup 2026. On the strength of Mbappe, France defeated Paraguay 1-0 and made it to the quarter-finals for the fourth consecutive time. In this match played amidst scorching heat at the Philadelphia Stadium in Philadelphia on July 5 (Sunday), Mbappe scored the only goal of the match on a penalty and led his team to victory.

In this match played in a temperature of around 38 degrees Celsius, Paraguay did not give France a chance to score for a long time. But after the intervention of VAR (Video Assistant Referee) in the 70th minute, France got a penalty. After the decision of foul on Paraguay’s Diego Gomez, Mbappe sent the ball into the goal without making any mistake.

This was Kylian Mbappe’s 19th goal in the FIFA World Cup. The special thing is that he has achieved this feat in only 19 matches. Now he is just one goal behind Lionel Messi (20 goals). Argentina’s captain and great footballer Messi is the player who has scored the most goals in the FIFA World Cup.

At the forefront of the Golden Boot race

Kylian Mbappe has scored 7 goals so far in this World Cup and is at the top in the race for the Golden Boot. Lionel Messi has also scored seven goals, but Mbappe has also made two assists in this World Cup. Four years ago, Mbappe had won the Golden Boot in the World Cup held in Qatar, but in the final, Messi-led Argentina defeated France and won the title.

Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gil performed brilliantly and thwarted many French attacks. He stopped two dangerous shots from Kylian Mbappe in injury time, while Manu Kone’s brilliant effort was also saved from becoming a goal. However, he could not stop Mbappe on penalty.

France has made it to the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the fourth consecutive time. Now he will face Morocco. This match will be played on July 10 at Boston Stadium in Foxboro. France will now look to advance to the World Cup final for the second consecutive time, while Kylian Mbappe will try to break Messi’s record and win the Golden Boot once again.