WORLD CUP | Mbappe Calls Paraguay “Dirty” After France Win 1-0 to Set Up Morocco Quarterfinal

Kylian Mbappe criticized Paraguay as “dirty” after France’s 1-0 win in their World Cup last-16 tie, sealed by his penalty to book a quarter-final against Morocco. Mbappe’s spot-kick left him one goal behind Lionel Messi on the World Cup all-time scoring list and was his seventh goal of the tournament, according to Yahoo Sports. The match featured multiple unpunished incidents, including challenges involving Andres Cubas on Adrien Rabiot, Juan Jose Caseras on Mbappe and Gabriel Avalos on Dayot Upamecano, with no Paraguay player booked while Manu Kone, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola were cautioned for France. France won the penalty when Diego Gomez brought down Desire Doue, and referee Ilgiz Tantashev awarded it after a monitor review; Paraguay players protested and Gustavo Velazquez tried to scuff the spot before Mbappe scored. After full-time, Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill threw the ball at Mbappe’s back, and Didier Deschamps said there were insults from the other bench.