Mbappé and France ditch ‘tuxedos’ to play ‘dirty football’ and beat Paraguay

France’s World Cup favourites arrived in Philadelphia expecting a celebration of style, but left with a reminder that grit matters just as much. Under a stifling Independence Day heatwave that peaked at 38°C, Les Bleus shed their reputation for champagne football and delivered a performance built on discipline, resilience, and a single moment of quality. Kylian Mbappé’s 1-0 victory over Paraguay owed more to composure than flair, a pragmatic shift that spoke volumes about the modern demands of tournament football.

Tactical shift: from elegance to efficiency

France began with the ball, dominating possession in the first half, yet found themselves unable to break down a Paraguay side that had already eliminated Germany. The Paraguayan approach was uncompromising: elbows flew in the opening exchanges, reckless challenges racked up, and referee Ilgiz Tantashev of Uzbekistan was subjected to relentless pressure from players who seemed to treat every decision as a personal affront. While France committed 11 fouls to Paraguay’s 13, the disparity in cards was stark—no yellows for the South Americans, three for the French. The message was clear: when the going gets tough, France will adapt.

The temperature added another layer of complexity. Neither side could sustain high-intensity pressing in the oppressive heat, turning what should have been a free-flowing contest into a tactical stalemate. France’s midfield trio of Aurélien Tchouaméni, Warren Zaïre-Emery, and Eduardo Camavinga, often the architects of their attacking rhythm, were forced to prioritise control over creativity. Mbappé’s post-match comments underscored the shift: “We’ve shown we’re not just a team that knows how to play attacking football. If we have to get our hands dirty, we will do it.” The victory was a statement of versatility, not just dominance.

Mbappé’s moment: the penalty that mattered

For all the talk of France’s tactical adjustment, the defining image remained the same: Mbappé, the World Cup’s leading marksman, converting a 60th-minute penalty after a clumsy foul on Ousmane Dembélé by Santiago Arzamendia. The goal drew him level with Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race with five goals, though still one behind the Argentine in the all-time goalscoring record for a single World Cup finals tournament. It was a reminder that even in unglamorous conditions, France’s talisman remains their most reliable asset. Paraguay’s resistance, built on aggression and referee-baiting, crumbled under the weight of a single, well-executed set piece.

The match itself was a far cry from France’s reputation for fluid, attacking football. The Independence Day festivities—complete with a boys’ choir rendition of America the Beautiful and a performance by The Roots—provided a surreal backdrop to a game that felt more like a training exercise than a spectacle. The heatwave had turned the pitch into a furnace, and neither side could summon the energy for sustained attacking play. Yet France, ever the pragmatists, found a way.

What this means for France—and the tournament

This was not the France that dazzled in Qatar, nor the side that dismantled Argentina in the 2022 final. It was a team stripped back to its essentials: a defence marshalled by William Saliba and Ibrahima Konaté that refused to crack under sustained provocation, a midfield that controlled the tempo through possession recycling, and an attack that punished the one mistake it was given. Mbappé’s words—”We know how to play dirty football too”—were less a boast than an acknowledgment of reality. The modern game rewards adaptability, and France are learning to wear their pragmatism like armour.

For Paraguay, the defeat was a sobering reminder of the gulf between tournament football’s glamour and its brutality. Their physical approach, which had seen them past Germany with a 4-3 penalty shootout victory, was neutralised by a French side that refused to engage on their terms. The referee’s leniency only highlighted the imbalance: Paraguay escaped punishment for tactics that would have been sanctioned elsewhere. Their early exit from the tournament now seems inevitable.

France, meanwhile, advance with their reputation intact but their style questioned. The question now is whether this performance was an aberration or a blueprint. If the heatwave was the outlier, they can revert to their usual brilliance. If not, then Mbappé’s side may have just revealed the next evolution of their game: less tuxedo, more trench coat.