France survive Paraguay's 'disgraceful' and 'embarrassing' dark arts

France advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Paraguay, a match marred by the South American team's aggressive and unsportsmanlike tactics. Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart described Paraguay's players as an "absolute disgrace," suggesting he would remove them from the field if they were on his team.

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Paraguay's players were an absolute disgrace. If they were on my team, I'd be dragging them off the pitch.

Paraguay, who had eliminated Germany in the previous round, resorted to "dark arts" in the punishing Philadelphia heat. Numerous fouls, including a dangerous elbow to the stomach and a kick, went unpunished by the referee. Astonishingly, while several French players received yellow cards, not a single Paraguayan player was booked.

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It was embarrassing to see. Paraguay are better than that. Defensively they were so good and they didn't need to get into these antics.

"It was embarrassing to see," said former England defender Micah Richards. "Paraguay are better than that. Defensively they were so good and they didn't need to get into these antics." The match was characterized by Paraguay's attempts to disrupt France's rhythm, including crowding the referee and attempting to scuff the penalty spot before Kylian Mbappe converted the spot-kick.

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There were some insults form the other bench we could have done without.

Didier Deschamps, the France boss, noted "insults from the other bench" during his post-match press conference. Even after the final whistle, a scuffle broke out. Despite the physical and unsportsmanlike challenges, Mbappe's penalty secured France's win, bringing his tournament goal count to seven, level with Lionel Messi. He also continues to break scoring records in World Cup knockout stages.

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Every single dark art you can use.