France have been the most consistent and dominant side at this World Cup, and now face Paraguay in the round of 16 at Philadelphia, with the match kicking off at 3 a.m. Bangladesh time on Saturday.
After sweeping through the group stage unbeaten and crushing Sweden in the round of 32, France’s form has drawn widespread attention. Kylian Mbappe has been the driving force, with 6 goals — tied with Lionel Messi for the tournament’s top scorer. A goal against Paraguay would make Mbappe the outright leading scorer at this World Cup, while two more would see him surpass Messi as the all-time World Cup top scorer.
Alongside Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, and Barcola have shown the kind of attacking quality that makes France exceptionally difficult to contain.
Coach Didier Deschamps has warned against complacency, noting he watched Paraguay’s round-of-32 victory over Germany closely. “Paraguay are a strong South American team with several high-quality players,” Deschamps said. “They showed their strength by beating Germany. This won’t be an easy match.”
Paraguay, who eliminated four-time champions Germany on penalties in the round of 32, will look to deploy counter-attacking tactics against France’s dominance of possession. They also carry historical motivation: in 1998, Paraguay were eliminated by France at the same round-of-16 stage in the tournament France went on to win.
In all competitions, France have won three of their five meetings with Paraguay, with two draws. Paraguay have never beaten France. Coach Gustavo Alfaro’s side will aim to rewrite that record on the World Cup stage.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report