Kylian Mbappé scored the decisive goal in France’s 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the 2026 World Cup, sending Les Bleus into the quarterfinals. According to ESPN. The goal came after a penalty awarded in the 70th minute, following a collision between Paraguay’s Diego Gómez and France’s Désiré Doué, which was confirmed by VAR. Mbappé’s conversion put France ahead and marked his seventh goal of the tournament, drawing him level with Argentina’s Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race.

Mbappé levels Golden Boot race with Messi

Mbappé’s goal brought him to seven goals in the 2026 World Cup, matching Messi, who also has seven in this edition; According to ESPN, both players are the only ones to score at least seven goals in two different World Cups. However, Messi extended his overall World Cup goal record to 20 after scoring against Cape Verde on Saturday, reports OneFootball, but Mbappé remains at 18 goals in his World Cup career, just two behind Messi, as noted by OneFootball.

Messi’s goal came in the 29th minute of Argentina’s match against Cape Verde in Miami, according to OneFootball. It was his seventh goal of the 2026 World Cup and his 20th overall, extending his record ahead of Mbappé, who is his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate.

France’s narrow win and Mbappé’s missed chances

France’s win over Paraguay was hard-fought, with Paraguay frustrating Les Bleus for much of the match, according to FotMob, as it was only the fourth time since 1966 that France had no shots in the first 20 minutes of a World Cup match. Mbappé and Manu Koné both had opportunities to extend the lead in the second half, but Paraguay’s goalkeeper Orlando Gill made key saves.

In the 70th minute. Mbappé converted the penalty after VAR confirmed the foul on Doué. However, in the final moments of the match, Mbappé missed two chances to double the lead, as Gill denied him twice in stoppage time, according to ESPN. France will now face Morocco in the quarterfinals on Thursday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, while Morocco had earlier eliminated co-hosts Canada with a 3-0 win on Saturday, reports ESPN.

France’s tactical discipline and future match

France’s coach Didier Deschamps praised his team’s discipline during the match, noting the importance of staying calm and composed. “I told my players, ‘If we have played their game we won’t win,’” Deschamps said. “I told them, ‘No gestures, no reactions.’ We had three yellows already. I am calm and collected, if the bench is calm and collected, it helps,” according to ESPN.

France’s upcoming match against Morocco will be a repeat of the 2022 World Cup semifinal, where France won 2-0 in Qatar, according to FotMob. Meanwhile, Mbappé’s performance has drawn comparisons to Messi, with both players in a tight Golden Boot race. Norway’s Erling Haaland and England’s Harry Kane are next in the race with five goals each, according to ESPN.