After upsetting Germany, Miguel Almirón and Paraguay couldn’t repeat the feat in the Round of 16 as they fell 1-0 to France at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Paraguay went toe-to-toe with the two-time champions and 2022 semifinalists for much of a sometimes-chippy match. But France took the lead in the 70th minute after a check of VAR found that Diego Gómez fouled Désiré Doué in the box. Kylian Mbappé delivered on the ensuing penalty for the game’s only goal. For its part, Paraguay opted to bunker and let France have much of the ball, its only shot on goal coming in the 89th minute.
Almirón, who left the match in the 71st minute in favor of Gabriel Ávalos, finished with one shot, five duels won, and seven interceptions. After a shaky start to the tournament, which included a yellow card for simulation against the United States after a VAR check and a red card for covering his mouth against Türkiye, he helped set up Julio Enciso’s first-half goal against Germany in the Round of 32.
Though Saturday ended in a loss for La Albirroja, they and Almiron will look back at this World Cup as a landmark event in their country’s football history. That’s not to say Saturday was the most honorable performance against France; it was fortunate to escape with zero yellow cards and had barely a quarter of possession, with things ending with a dust-up after the final whistle.
Les Bleus, meanwhile, move on to face Morocco in a rematch of the 2022 semifinal.