French striker Kylian Mbappe commented on the 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the round of 16 of the World Cup.
„We knew what kind of game to expect. I think it was very useful for us to experience a game like this and see how we would cope. We showed that we are not just a team that can play attacking football. Every team plays to its strengths – there is no right or wrong way to play. The only right way is to win. Now we have to focus on Morocco. "We are really looking forward to playing against them because we know they are a very good team," the 27-year-old was quoted as saying on the FIFA website, BTA reported.
"If we have to put our hands in the mud, we will! They thought we would come out to play in tuxedos. But we know how to play dirty football too. And even in that we were better than them!“, Mbappe also said, quoted by BeInSports.
The quarter-final match of the 2026 World Cup between France and Morocco will be held on July 9.
After France survived a controversial clash in the round of 16 of the World Cup with a 1-0 victory over Paraguay, French coach Didier Deschamps said that he had expected a similar outcome for the match played in Philadelphia.
France ended the match with three yellow cards from Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev, although Paraguay was the team that defended and interrupted the game in the most heated match of this World Cup.
“I have seen a lot of things“, Deschamps said. "I prepared the players. The players were expecting this match. "I don't want to criticise Paraguay. Every team plays the way they want. But there were some insults from the other bench. The most important thing was that there were no disagreements until the end of the match and that we didn't get any more cards. We got three yellow cards in a match with a lot of fouls. I'm not saying we didn't make any fouls, but there were a lot from both teams," Deschamps commented.