PHILADELPHIA — At this point in the World Cup, it’s not a matter of if Kylian Mbappé will score; it’s a matter of when.
And on Saturday, the answer was the 70th minute in France’s 1-0 victory over Paraguay to advance to the quarterfinals and book a date with Morocco on Thursday in New England.
Mbappé scored his seventh goal of the World Cup on a penalty kick after the video assistant referee (VAR) ruled a tackle by Paraguay defender Gustavo Gómez was a foul.
The French soccer star tied Lionel Messi with seven goals in this year’s tournament as he notched his 19th career goal in his 19th career World Cup match after making his debut for Les Bleus during the 2018 tournament in Russia.
Mbappé is one goal behind Messi for the all-time World Cup goal-scoring record.
Mbappé and France were not short on chances, but, to Paraguay’s credit, its physical style of play helped temper the machine-like offense that Les Bleus have shown this tournament.
France scored at least three goals in their last five World Cup matches, which included the 2022 final against Argentina, coming into Saturday night, only to see that come to an end thanks to one of the Cinderella stories of this year’s tournament.
The physicality picked up as the match went on, and in the 35th minute, it looked as though the two sides might come to blows after Mbappé took exception to an aggressive defensive play by Andrés Cubas.
Mbappé and Cubas exchanged words, leading to both teams charging in to defend their respective players, with several players exchanging shoves.
France’s offensive prowess really started to show in the second half and nearly claimed the lead several minutes into the match after halftime.
Mbappé was able to break free but couldn’t corral the ball enough, allowing a Paraguayan defender to catch up to him.
Several minutes later, Manu Koné fired a ball from deep outside the penalty area and forced Orlando Gill to make a diving save.
Paraguay was one of the surprises this tournament after making it out of the group stage and shocking Germany in the Round of 32 to play against the highly favored France squad.
This was Paraguay’s first appearance in the World Cup since 2010, when it reached the quarterfinals.
The sweltering heat was hard to ignore on Saturday, as temperatures hovered near 100 degrees near the start of the match and only dipped slightly as the evening went on.
Every match of the FIFA World Cup will air on either FOX or FOX Sports 1. If you don’t have cable, you can take advantage of a DIRECTV free trial to stream it all.
Prefer to check out the action live and in person? Shop World Cup 2026 tickets on SeatGeek and make sure to use promo code NYPOST10 for $10 off purchases over $250 at checkout if you’re a first-time SeatGeek user.
Before the match, fans took shelter on staircases and along the concourse to try to beat the heat, while at times during the match, it was hard to distinguish between fans fanning themselves and those waving flags and banners.
The showdown between France and Paraguay took place at the same time as the United States was celebrating its 250th birthday, with special Fourth of July celebrations taking place across the country.
Prior to the match, the moment was also honored at Lincoln Financial Field as FIFA held its own ceremony that included a special flag spread across the field and performances by the Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale and The Roots.
Idina Menzel performed the American national anthem, and there was a military flyover above the stadium.
