France reaches quarterfinals after Mbappé's penalty downs Paraguay; he ties Messi for scoring lead

Kylian Mbappé's penalty kick propelled France into the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals, as they narrowly defeated Paraguay 1-0. The decisive goal, scored in the 65th minute, was Mbappé's seventh of the tournament, tying him with Lionel Messi of Argentina for the Golden Boot lead. This goal also increased his career World Cup total to 19, placing him just one behind Messi's all-time record of 20. France, initially struggling to break down Paraguay's defense in the first half, found their breakthrough after coach Didier Deschamps introduced forward Désiré Doué in the 61st minute. Doué's energetic dribbling created space and ultimately earned the penalty that Mbappé converted. With this victory, France also became the fourth nation, after Brazil, Germany, and Argentina, to reach 150 all-time World Cup goals. They are set to face Morocco in the quarterfinals on July 10th. Morocco secured their quarterfinal spot by convincingly defeating host nation Canada 3-0. Azzedine Ounahi scored twice, and Soufiane Rahimi added a third goal. This marks Morocco's second consecutive appearance in the World Cup quarterfinals, a historic achievement for an African nation, and they have also set a new record for most goals by an African team in a single tournament with eight. Ounahi's multi-goal performance was the first by an African player in a knockout stage match since Henri Camara for Senegal in 2002.