The round of 16 game between France and Paraguay was played with dirty and hardball tactics. France was left frustrated in breaking Paraguay’s defense, and the latter continued their sneaky fouls and tackles, repeated from their Germany triumph. However, while knockout games are meant to be heated, the intensity in the France-Paraguay game was visible. Adding to that was Paraguay’s goalie, Orlando Gill’s act against Kylian Mbappé after the final whistle that left the fans infuriated.

“Kylian Mbappé ended the match against Paraguay heatedly: after the final whistle, the French forward refused to shake the Paraguayan goalkeeper’s hand, who responded by throwing the ball at him. France qualified despite the tension,” ZuritaCarpio shared via X.

It was Mbappé who made the difference in the game with his winning goal from a penalty. While France could take a single shot on target and was left frustrated in trying to break Paraguay’s defense, the chance finally came after the 69th minute. Paraguay’s Diego Gomez felled sub Désiré Doué inside the area, and it didn’t escape referee Ilgiz Tanatashev’s eyes. Kylian Mbappé took the shot, and France got their winning goal, but the heat remained.

Just as the final whistle was blown, Mbappé was seen making some celebratory moves as Gill was seen extending his hand for a handshake. Genuine show of sportsmanship, but Mbappé chose to ignore and walked past him. Gill’s was denied a handshake, and he chose to toss the ball towards Mbappé, resulting in the ball hitting the French striker on the back. While Mbappé still chose to ignore it, it led to an altercation in the midfield.

“We knew what kind of match it was going to be,” Kylian Mbappé said after the game. “We can also get our hands dirty; we know how to do it, we know how to play ugly football. Guess they were thinking we were going to show up in tuxedos, but we were ready.”

Gill also made his stance clear after the game.

“This is soccer. If they are not used to this, well, what can we do?” Gill said. “I extended my hand to congratulate him, but since he ignored me, obviously, I had a moment of anger, but later I calmed down.”

Possibly the heat will not get carried forward, but the fans chose not to remain calm.

Fans are left unimpressed by Paraguay’s behavior with Mbappé

“Paraguay, throughout the entire match, only demonstrated a dirty style of football full of blows, shoves, and provocations. It’s a shame to see that in America, football cannot exist without aggression and fair play. Excellent that they didn’t win. Football like that should never be rewarded in any way at all,” one fan said.

“Mbappé isn’t my cup of tea, but I’m totally with him on this. Paraguay played dirty, awful, truly cringe-worthy,” another fan added.

The game was full of hard tackles and sneaky fouls. Paraguay won against Germany with its sturdy defense, but it didn’t work against France.

“F— those f—— Paraguayans for trying to pull the same tactic of going to penalties as they did against Germany, but by pulling that stupid shit, they ended up losing,” another user remarked.

“And the dumb— throws the ball at him and ignores him, hahahah, take that, after messing up the whole game, so wholesome,” one user called out Gill.

“These South American sons of b—— just went there to throw kicks, they shouldn’t even go to the World Cups anymore, I get that in South America they stick their leg in, but don’t f—–‘ mess around or be shameless, these dumb—– don’t even know how to play,” another fan reacted.

So, fans are left unimpressed despite Paraguay’s dominant campaign in the 2026 World Cup.