PHILADELPHIA – There are a multitude of factors at play when France take the pitch against Gustavo Alfraro, who is only one win from matching the best-ever finish for Paraguay at the World Cup, but they also recognize that defeating France will take a special performance. Playing on the Fourth of July in Philadelphia, it will already be a significant match honoring the 250th anniversary of American independence, including pre-match performances by the Roots and Idina Menzel, but it will also showcase one of the stars of the World Cup, Kylian Mbappe, as he looks to regain his lead for the Golden Boot from Lionel Messi who scored his sixth goela of the tournament as Argentina outlasted Cabo Verde to make it ot the round of 16.
Alfaro recognizes that Paraguay have already accomplished so much by getting to this point, and there’s a reason why a national holiday was declared after Paraguay knocked Germany out of the World Cup on penalties, but defeating France will take another gear as Alfaro’s Paraguay will look to defend against the lightning, both literally and figuratively, where storms and 100-degree weather could pose big problems.
“Allow me to try to define this. I am someone who grew up in the countryside in Rafaella (Argentina). When a storm would light with lightning, you had to go back home, because we had no protection from lightning,” Alfraro mentioned in his pre-match press conference. “You cannot go behind that tree, because you can get struck by lightning on the tree. France is like one of those storms, you know. We’re facing this storm, and you have to see how to protect yourself from lightning. This is a way in which I can tell you the kind of match we’re facing.”
How to watch Paraguay vs. France
Date: Saturday, July 4 | Time: 5 p.m. ET
Location: Lincoln Financial Field — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
TV: FOX (Eng), Telemundo (Spa) | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Odds: Paraguay +1600; Draw +600; France -599
Given the heat expected in Philadelphia and Paraguay’s style, Alfaro expects to set up in a low block, but even that may not be enough to slow down this version of Didier Deschamps’ France side. With thunderstorms in the forecast and France already having a game paused due to weather during the World Cup, but with Balon d’Or contender Michael Olise pulling the strings, the weather may be the only thing capable of stopping France at this stage of the tournament.
Already with five assists at the World Cup while making his debut on the world’s biggest stage, Olise has Pele’s record for the most assists at a single World Cup (six) in his sights. That’s a record that has stood since 1970, and this is already the first World Cup since 1994 during which anyone has collected five assists in the tournament. For everything that Kylian Mbappe does to raise France’s ceiling, one of the best moves that Deschamps has made during this tournament is moving Olise off the wing, where he started the World Cup against Senegal, to a central position. That opening 45 minutes against Senegal are the worst that France have looked during this World Cup as Olise has been able to balance getting both Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele into space.
“Michael is an exceptional player; we’ve seen that game after game. I think he has reached five assists, which is extraordinary in such a competition. He’s a prominent player and gave a lot on the pitch,” Desire Doue mentioned. “I believe that all the players do get on well with him. He’s really timid and discreet when it comes to the media, but we do laugh a lot with him, I’m just hoping that it continues helping us.”
Olise hasn’t looked like someone appearing in their first World Cup, and that’s a credit to the experience in the squad which has been molded under Deschamps during his time in charge. He’s looking to lead Les Bleus to their third consecutive World Cup final, and as their path unfolds, it’s hard to say that France won’t be able to accomplish that. Paraguay’s physicality can’t be overlooked, but get past this, and France will like their chances against Canada or Morocco in the quarterfinals.
France are the only team at the World Cup with two players who have scored four or more goals, as Mbappe and Dembele have made the attack unstoppable, because who do you close down if they get the ball into the final third? Despite that success, Deschamps is still looking for faster starts from his team, as to win a World Cup, you essentially need perfection.
“I don’t have any problems; I only have solutions to find,” Deschamps mentioned. “Maybe that’s easier, and sometimes when I don’t have the best solution, I’ll take the one that’s least bad. We’ve had some beginning of matches that were a bit difficult sometimes, and this got repeated, even though the match lasts 90 minutes.”
Against Paraguay, a fast start is critical because they aren’t a side built to chase a game. The United States found that out, winning 4-1 in their opening World Cup match and France will look to repeat that. Paraguay are undefeated at the World Cup when scoring first, and the defense has rounded into form after facing the United States, only allowing two goals in the three games since, and they’ll give France a physical test. But to win the World Cup, France will also have to survive heat and physicality, making Saturday a good test of their championship mettle.
Predicted starting lineups
France: Mike Maignan; Jules Kounde, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Lucas Digne; Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Desire Doue; Kylian Mbappe
Paraguay: Orlando Gill; Gustavo Caceres, Gustavo Gomez, Jose Canale, Alan Alonso; Mathias Galarza, Mathias Cubas, Diego Gomez; Miguel Almiron, Antonio Avalos, Julio Enciso
