Kylian Mbappe's penalty seals win for France against Paraguay, sets up Morocco showdown

Kylian Mbappe kept France's FIFA World Cup dream alive with the decisive goal in a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Paraguay on Saturday, booking a blockbuster quarter-final showdown against Morocco. Playing in scorching temperatures at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field, France struggled to break down a disciplined Paraguayan defence before Mbappe converted a second-half penalty to send Les Bleus into the last eight. The France captain calmly slotted home from the spot in the 70th minute after substitute Desire Doue won a penalty following a surging run into the box.

Initially, referee Ilgiz Tantashev waved play on, but after a VAR review, the decision was overturned and France were awarded the spot-kick. Mbappe made no mistake, scoring his seventh goal of the tournament to draw level with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. Paraguay, who shocked four-time champions Germany on penalties in the Round of 32, frustrated France for much of the contest with a well-organized defensive display despite the extreme heat.

After the victory, Mbappe praised his team's resilience in a physically demanding contest. "We knew what sort of match we were in for, but I think today went really well," Mbappe said after an ill-tempered affair that saw three France players pick up yellow cards. "They thought we'd turn up in tuxedos, that we'd just come to pull off some spectacular moves," Mbappe added. "But we know how to play the dirty game too. And we did that today; we won, and even in that respect we were better than them."

France will now meet Morocco in the quarterfinals in Foxborough, setting up a rematch of their 2022 FIFA World Cup semifinal.

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Morocco eliminate Canada to reach last eight

Earlier on Saturday, Morocco secured their place in the quarter-finals with an impressive 3-0 victory over co-host Canada in Houston. Azzedine Ounahi scored twice before Soufiane Rahimi added a late third to seal a comfortable victory for the reigning African champions. Canada made an energetic start and controlled much of the opening period, but Morocco struck shortly after halftime when Ounahi fired home from the edge of the area.

The midfielder completed his brace with eight minutes remaining before Rahimi finished off a swift counter-attack in stoppage time to end Canada's World Cup campaign. Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi praised his team's maturity after another impressive knockout victory. "We are very happy," Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said. "It's a World Cup match and these are difficult games with teams playing for their lives. Canada were impressive, they played a top match. It was no surprise for us but in the second half we were able to profit from the space they left us."

The victory also made history, with Morocco becoming the first African nation to reach the World Cup quarterfinals in consecutive tournaments. Ouahbi believes his side has firmly established itself among the world's elite. "We're no longer a surprise today and that's a great source of pride," Ouahbi said. "I think this is only the beginning and I hope we'll keep producing this kind of run for many years."

Canada manager Jesse Marsch felt his side deserved more despite the defeat. "We were the better team," Marsch said. “It's just they had a bit of quality in the final third and we lacked the ability to make a play when we needed to.” The Round of 16 continues on Sunday with England taking on co-host Mexico at the Estadio Azteca, while Brazil face Norway in New Jersey as the race for World Cup glory intensifies.