Kylian Mbappe hits back at shameful Paraguay antics with 'dirty football' claim

Kylian Mbappe hits back at shameful Paraguay antics with 'dirty football' claim France survived an ugly World Cup Round of 32 match against Paraguay which was marred by some disgraceful antics from players targeting Kylian Mbappe and his team-mates Kylian Mbappe shrugged off the controversial tactics deployed by Paraguay following their failed attempt to harness the dark arts to try and beat France to a World Cup quarter-final. The Real Madrid striker scored the only goal as France avoided an upset against a Paraguay team who stunned Germany in the Round of 32, coolly converting a second half penalty. But the main talking point from the match was Paraguay's aggressive approach as they attempted to bludgeon Didier Deschamps' side into submission. Mbappe was targeted by Paraguay players as they attempted to provoke the striker into doing something he would regret in the final stages of the match after being relentlessly kicked throughout it. But Mbappe and France kept their cool in the extreme Philadelphia heat to have the last laugh — and the World Cup's joint leading scorer had his say on proceedings after the game. "We knew what kind of match we were going to have," Mbappe said, per RMC Sport. "If we have to get our hands dirty, we know how to do it. We know how to play dirty football. They thought we were going to come and play in tuxedos, but we were there. Even in that game, we were better than them. "That's their football; there's no right or wrong way to play football. They tried to get us that way, but we won." Although Mbappe and Co were on the end of several meaty challenges, as well as some stray arms, referee Ilgiz Tantashev opted to keep his cards in his pocket. In fact, France actually ended the game with more yellow cards than Paraguay, who did not have one single player booked. William Saliba revealed that France were expecting Paraguay to deploy the dark arts, telling reporters: "The coach warned us two or three days before to stay focused on the game. He showed us some videos. They were going to get in our faces, commit fouls, provoke us. We had to stay focused on the game because if we started to lose energy, get confused and lose our focus, it wasn't going to work. So, we stayed focused. "It's not easy and it also feels good sometimes to win hard-fought matches like this because since the start of the competition, we've been used to scoring three. Today, it's a 1-0 victory, but it has the same merit." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Sky is knocking 20% off its entire range of Glass TVs to mark the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Until June 17, shoppers can upgrade to the Sky smart TV that's 'designed for football' from £4.50 per month when taken alongside a Sky TV and Netflix package.