Kylian Mbappe’s match-winning penalty sent France into the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday, July 5, but the final whistle brought with it an ugly flashpoint involving Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill.
Moments after France secured a hard-fought 1-0 win in the Round of 16, Gill walked towards Mbappe to congratulate him with a handshake. The France captain, still celebrating, appeared to ignore the gesture and walked past the Paraguayan goalkeeper.
Frustrated by the snub, Gill threw the match ball at Mbappe’s back before walking away. Mbappe did not react to the incident and continued celebrating France’s progression, ensuring the confrontation did not escalate further.
The incident quickly drew attention after a fiercely contested encounter in which Paraguay had spent 90 minutes trying to unsettle the two-time world champions.
FIFA WORLD CUP: FRANCE EKE OUT TOUGH WIN
France knew they were unlikely to enjoy a straightforward evening against the South Americans, who defended deep, disrupted the rhythm of the game with frequent fouls and looked to drag Didier Deschamps’ side into a physical battle in sweltering conditions.
Mbappe eventually settled the contest in the 70th minute, calmly converting a penalty after Desire Doue’s driving run into the penalty area forced Diego Gomez into a clumsy challenge. The referee initially waved play on before awarding the spot-kick following a VAR review.
The goal was Mbappe’s seventh of the tournament and the 19th of his World Cup career, drawing him level with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot while moving him within one goal of the Argentine’s all-time World Cup scoring record.
“It wasn’t easy. They used every trick in the book,” France coach Didier Deschamps said after the match.
“It is not the kind of football that will bring people to the stadium, but they defended well. It is always difficult against these South American teams.”
Mbappe echoed his coach’s assessment, insisting France had expected exactly this kind of contest.
“We knew what kind of match we were going to have,” Mbappe said.
“If we have to get our hands dirty, we can do that. We can play ugly football. They thought we would turn up in tuxedos, but we were there. Even at that game, we were better than them. That’s their football – there is no right or wrong way to play the game. They tried to get at us that way, but we won.”
Paraguay, who had stunned Germany on penalties in the previous round, once again defended resolutely and limited France’s attacking stars for long spells. Gill himself produced several outstanding saves, denying Mbappe late in normal time and twice again in stoppage time to keep the scoreline respectable.
“I believe without the penalty we could have done it,” Gill said after the match.
“We did very well in the first half, we were avoiding all of the through balls. It was unfortunate there was a penalty, but football is like this.”
GILL APOLOGISES TO MBAPPE
Gill also addressed the post-match altercation with Mbappe, admitting that frustration briefly got the better of him.
“I extended my hand to congratulate him, but he didn’t pay me any attention, as if I wasn’t there,” the goalkeeper said.
“Of course, I got caught up in a moment of anger and emotion, but that’s all there was to it, nothing else happened. After that, I calmed down, and all I wanted was just to congratulate him.”
France will now face Morocco in the quarter-finals, while Paraguay bow out after one of their best World Cup campaigns in recent history.
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