Paraguay felt short of its objective

Kylian Mbappe sealed the match in the 70^th minute on a penalty kick to send Paraguay packing in their quest to move on to the next round.

With a very busy Saturday, we began the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and by the end of the night, we lost two teams following matches that were gripping for very different reasons.

Co-host Canada started the day with a 3-0 loss to Morocco in Houston, making them the first of the World Cup’s three hosts to be eliminated.

The afternoon match saw a decisive perseverance from a Paraguayan team looking, at any cost, to go through to the quarterfinals, but in the end, fell short of its objective.

Paraguay played a hard-fought match against the Cup favorites in Philadelphia. A second-half penalty from Kylian Mbappé ultimately made the difference, allowing France to advance to a 1-0 victory.

Photo Credit: Diario Deportivo ABC de Asunción, Paraguay

Follow us on bluesky

Follow us on Twitter