France head coach Didier Deschamps said his side had to get their hands dirty in their 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 win over Paraguay in Philadelphia, www.aclsports.com reports.
Deschamps also became the first head coach to win 10 FIFA World Cup knockout matches as France were made to work hard for qualification. Paraguay frustrated the Europeans with a compact defensive setup before Kylian Mbappé’s seventh goal of the tournament, a 70th-minute penalty, proved enough to send Les Bleus into the quarter-finals.
Speaking after the match, Deschamps admitted his side were tested in unfamiliar conditions after a relatively smooth start to the competition.
“First of all, it’s the pleasure of once again qualifying for the quarter-finals,” he said. “It was a difficult match, but as I told the players, up to now we had been in relatively comfortable situations. It’s also good to go through this kind of game, to learn how to handle it.”
The France coach acknowledged his team could have killed off the game earlier but stressed the importance of game management in knockout football.
“We could have scored a second goal that would have given us more breathing space, but we still had to manage the end of the match because one long throw-in or free kick can change everything,” he added.
The France boss, however, admitted the intensity of the match tested discipline on both sides, with emotions running high during the contest.
“It was necessary to get our hands dirty. Sometimes the match wasn’t spectacular. We could have done more, but we must not take anything away from this team. They made it very difficult.”
Deschamps also refused to criticise the officials or Paraguay’s approach despite a stop-start encounter that saw France finish with three yellow cards.
“I’m not going to criticise the referee. I saw a lot of things, but what do you want me to say? I prepared the players for this. I’m also not going to criticise Paraguay. Every team plays the way it wants to.”
Deschamps also addressed questions about Kylian Mbappé’s leadership, rejecting suggestions that the France captain had changed during the tournament.
“No, he hasn’t changed. You’re making him out to be a dictator. He has an image outside that is not the reality,” he said.
“When he speaks, he speaks for the group. I speak a lot with him and he relays the players’ concerns. Everyone follows him.”
Looking ahead to the quarter-finals, Deschamps briefly turned his attention to Morocco, France’s next opponents, while insisting recovery remained the immediate priority.
“Morocco are among the best teams. You don’t reach a World Cup quarter-final by chance. They have quality. But first, we have 48 hours to recover because fatigue is building up. On the third day, we will switch focus.”
