Overview
Paraguay will aim for another earthquake at the 2026 World Cup when facing championship contender France in the round of 16.
Coach Gustavo Alfaro's team traveled to Philadelphia with high spirits after eliminating Germany with a 4-3 victory in the penalty shootout.
This is only the second time Paraguay has participated in the round of 16 of the World Cup. The only time before that, they also qualified for the next round after a penalty shootout when defeating Japan at the 2010 World Cup before reaching the quarterfinals. Now, the South American team aims to repeat the miracle after 16 years.
Although Opta supercomputers assess France as the number one candidate for the championship, Alfaro still believes Paraguay is capable of creating another surprise. Their biggest hope continues to be placed on Julio Enciso.
The midfielder from Strasbourg is Paraguay's most outstanding player at the 2026 World Cup. He has contributed to 3 goals (one goal, two assists), leading the team in the number of shots (8), chances created (6), number of touches in the opponent's penalty area (11) and number of successful dribbles (12).
Enciso's opening goal against Germany also went down in history when it became Paraguay's first goal in World Cup knockout matches. Previously, the South American representative went through 5 consecutive knockout matches without being able to score.
Goal scoring ability has been Paraguay's weakness for many years. They have not scored more than one goal in any of their last seven appearances at the World Cup.
In total, Paraguay has only scored 33 goals in 31 matches at the World Cup, achieving an average efficiency of 1.1 goals per match. Among the teams with at least 30 matches at the biggest football festival on the planet, only South Korea has a lower scoring record with an average of one goal per match.
In stark contrast to Paraguay, the French team's attack is in explosive form. Kylian Mbappe scored a double, and Bradley Barcola also scored in the 3-0 victory over Sweden in the previous round.
Mbappe (8 times involved in goals), Ousmane Dembele (6) and Michael Olise (5) are creating one of the most fearsome attacks in the tournament. France became the first team since Brazil in 2002 to own 3 players who directly participated in at least 5 goals at a World Cup.
Les Bleus have also scored at least 3 goals in all 4 matches since the beginning of the tournament. In World Cup history, only Germany in 1954 and Brazil in 1970 have scored 3 or more goals in 5 consecutive matches in the same World Cup.
With the depth and strength of the current attack, coach Didier Deschamps has every reason to aim for a historical milestone.
If he defeats Paraguay, the French strategist will become the first coach to win 10 matches in World Cup knockout matches. Currently, he has 9 wins after 11 knockout matches in the tournament.
Head-to-head record
This will be the sixth time France and Paraguay have faced each other in all competitions, and also the third confrontation between the two teams at the World Cup.
In the previous two encounters at the biggest football festival on the planet, France both won. Les Bleus won 7-3 at the 1958 World Cup, before continuing to overcome Paraguay 1-0 in the round of 16 of the 1998 World Cup thanks to Laurent Blanc's golden goal.
Score prediction: Paraguay 0-3 France
The match between Paraguay and France takes place at 4:00 AM on July 5 (Vietnam time).
