Paraguay have been branded "disgraceful" and "embarrassing" for their actions in their World Cup last-16 defeat to France overnight. The South Americans, who beat Germany in the first phase of the knockouts, did everything in their power to stop Didier Deschamps' side from playing, which led to former England goalkeeper Joe Hart to criticise their robust approach.
"Paraguay's players were an absolute disgrace," he said on the BBC. "If they were on my team, I'd be dragging them off the pitch."
Incredibly, not one Paraguay player was booked during the contest, while France players Manu Kone, Bradley Barcola and Michael Olise were all cautioned.
Pundits condemn Paraguay's tactics
"It was embarrassing to see," former England defender Micah Richards added. "Paraguay are better than that. Defensively they were so good and they didn't need to get into these antics."
"Paraguay tried to wind up the France players, little shoves and nudges but not enough to get a yellow card," former Scotland winger Pat Nevin told BBC Radio 5 Live. "Every single dark art you can use."
In the end it was Kylian Mbappe's second-half penalty that secured the French a place in the World Cup quarter-finals as Les Bleus battled to a hard-fought 1-0 victory in Philadelphia.
France dominate but struggle to break down Paraguay
France dominated possession throughout much of the match but found it difficult to break down a disciplined and physical Paraguay defence in sweltering conditions, with temperatures reaching around 38°C. The breakthrough finally arrived in the 70th minute when Mbappe calmly converted from the penalty spot after a VAR review confirmed Diego Gomez had fouled Desire Doue inside the area.
The goal, Mbappe's seventh of the tournament, drew him level with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot and set up a quarter-final meeting with Morocco, who defeated Canada earlier on Saturday.
France made an energetic start, with Mbappe seeing an early effort blocked by Omar Alderete before Michael Olise's dangerous delivery towards Adrien Rabiot was intercepted. Despite moving the ball confidently and controlling possession, Les Bleus struggled to create clear-cut chances against Paraguay's well-organised back line.
Manu Kone dragged an effort wide before the first cooling break, while Ousmane Dembele's low cross took a deflection and rolled dangerously across the face of goal before being cleared. Rabiot later fired over from distance, while at the other end Mike Maignan comfortably dealt with Paraguay's only meaningful first-half opportunity from a free-kick. Mbappe headed wide from a Dembele corner, and Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill punched clear another threatening delivery from Olise as France's frustration continued into the interval.
Second half drama and decisive penalty
Paraguay began the second half brightly, with Maignan punching away Miguel Almiron's corner, but France soon regained control. Dembele fired into the side netting from a cleverly worked corner routine before Gill produced an excellent save to tip Kone's powerful strike over the crossbar.
The decisive moment came when VAR awarded France a penalty after Gomez clipped Doue as the winger burst into the penalty area. Mbappe stepped up and confidently placed his effort into the bottom corner to hand France the lead.
Paraguay searched for an equaliser, but Maignan comfortably claimed a dangerous free-kick before Junior Alonso sent a late effort wide. Mbappe nearly doubled France's advantage in the closing stages, forcing Gill into an impressive save with a fierce drive, while Maignan remained alert to deny Mauricio at the opposite end. Gill then produced a superb double save in stoppage time to keep Mbappe from adding a second, but France comfortably held on to book their place in the last eight.
Deschamps and Hart react
After the match, Deschamps praised his side's composure. "I asked the two biggest lads to go and stand around Kylian at the end because they were going to chop him down," Deschamps added. "It wasn't easy. They use every trick in the book. It's not the kind of football that will bring people to the stadium, but they defended well. It is always difficult against these South American teams."
Hart doubled down on his view of the Paraguay players and said the officiating didn't help matters. "I love how Mbappe has behaved in this game," added Hart. "The Paraguay players have come for him from minute one. When he was laughing at the players, he is allowed to be arrogant. I would never want to play football that way. The referee didn't help in any circumstances. The fact that not one Paraguayan was booked inside the 90 minutes is astonishing."
