Kylian Mbappe fires World Cup warning after heated Paraguay clash

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Cameron Smith | Digital Content Producer

Accredited sports journalist covering football since 2020

Kylian Mbappe fired a warning to France’s upcoming World Cup opponents following their narrow 1-0 win over Paraguay on Saturday.

The Real Madrid striker scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot, his 19th World Cup strike of all time, and Didier Deschamps’ side will now face Morocco in the quarter-finals after their 3-0 victory over co-hosts Canada.

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Kylian Mbappé

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Kylian Mbappé

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Real Madrid

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France enjoyed 76% possession against Paraguay, but they struggled to break down a resolute deep block, while their opponents often resorted to aggressive tackles in a bid to disrupt Les Bleus’ rhythm.

Paraguay spent the final 10 minutes of the match attempting to wind Mbappe up and it was a huge surprise that referee Ilgiz Tantashev failed to issue a single yellow card to the South American side, who used thuggery in an attempt to overcome the talent deficit.

However, despite failing to replicate their usual attacking flair, France kept their cool to book their place in the quarter-finals as they look to reach a third consecutive World Cup final this summer.

Speaking after the match, Mbappe told TV reporters (via The Guardian): “We’ve shown we’re not just a team that knows how to play attacking football. If we have to get our hands dirty, we will do it.

“They thought we’d show up in tuxedos to play, but we know how to play dirty football too. We won and we were better than them.”

What did Didier Deschamps say?

Meanwhile, France boss Deschamps added: “It wasn't easy. They used every resource possible. It is maybe not the kind of football that brings people to the stadium, playing with that aggression, exaggerating everything.

“We stayed focused on our game. It was difficult, they had lots of men behind the ball and they defended well. Obviously the temperatures made it hard to play with intensity and without that they defended well.”

He added: “I am not going to criticise the referee but we finished the game with three bookings and yet there were a lot of things going on. I won't criticise Paraguay. Every team can play however they want, but I could do without the insults.

“The most important thing is that there were no incidents at the end. But all that matters is that we have qualified.

“We kept our nerve and that is an essential thing. It doesn't win you the game but it is important. This experience will help us. After all, we have a lot of players who are playing at their first World Cup.

“I wouldn't say it had been easy for us up to now but now we have had a different type of game.”