We can play dirty too: Mbappe after Paraguay battle

France booked their place in the World Cup quarter-finals with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Paraguay on Saturday (July 5), but the headline afterward was less about the scoreline and more about the fight that got them there. In stifling heat of nearly 38 degrees Celsius (100°F) at Philadelphia, Kylian Mbappe converted the game's only goal from the penalty spot to send Les Bleus through — and to send a message to anyone thinking France would be pushed around.

Paraguay, who stunned Germany on penalties to reach the last 16, arrived with a clear game plan: frustrate, foul and physically wear down the French. From the opening whistle, Paraguayan players committed to a rugged, contact-heavy approach, testing referee Ilgiz Tantashev's patience with repeated fouls, hard tackles and off-the-ball confrontations that kept France's attackers constantly off balance.

Mbappe did not hide his frustration after the final whistle — but he also made clear France would not simply absorb the physical treatment.

"We knew what kind of game was waiting for us. I think we handled it very well today," Mbappe said.

Turning to Paraguay's tactics, the French captain did not mince words.

"They thought we'd show up in tuxedos and just try to dazzle them with tricks. But that's not reality. When we need to, we know how to play ugly football too. That's exactly what we did today," he said.

The match produced four yellow cards in total, with three of them going to French players as tempers flared throughout a bruising encounter. Despite the chaos, Mbappe's penalty proved decisive, securing France's passage to the quarter-finals and extending their unbeaten run at this World Cup.