No previous meetings between these teams.
-
1
Kylian Mbappé6 - 2Ousmane Dembélé4
- 3Bradley Barcola2
- 4
Julio Enciso1 - 5Désiré Doué1
- 6Matías Galarza1
- 7Mauricio1
- 1Kylian Mbappé21
- 2Michael Olise14
- 3Ousmane Dembélé10
- 4Julio Enciso8
- 5Désiré Doué7
- 6Bradley Barcola5
- 7Diego Gómez5
- 8Adrien Rabiot3
- 9Théo Hernández3
- 10Miguel Almirón3
- 1Andrés Cubas11
- 2Aurélien Tchouaméni10
- 3Matías Galarza10
- 4Juan José Cáceres9
- 5Júnior Alonso6
- 6Jules Koundé6
- 7José Canale6
- 8Dayot Upamecano6
- 9Mauricio5
- 10Julio Enciso4
- 1Michael Olise5
- 2Julio Enciso2
- 3Kylian Mbappé2
- 4Ousmane Dembélé2
- 5Adrien Rabiot1
- 6Bradley Barcola1
- 7Aurélien Tchouaméni1
- 8Matías Galarza1
- 1Kylian Mbappé10
- 2Ousmane Dembélé9
- 3Michael Olise9
- 4Julio Enciso6
- 5Adrien Rabiot5
- 6Désiré Doué5
- 7Aurélien Tchouaméni4
- 8Jules Koundé4
- 9Bradley Barcola3
- 10Théo Hernández2
- 1Dayot Upamecano227
- 2Aurélien Tchouaméni188
- 3Michael Olise184
- 4Adrien Rabiot180
- 5William Saliba179
- 6Jules Koundé165
- 7Ousmane Dembélé127
- 8Manu Koné118
- 9Kylian Mbappé113
- 10Théo Hernández98
- 1Julio Enciso12
- 2Michael Olise8
- 3Kylian Mbappé7
- 4Bradley Barcola6
- 5Juan José Cáceres5
- 6Miguel Almirón5
- 7Ousmane Dembélé4
- 8Matías Galarza4
- 9Diego Gómez3
- 10Désiré Doué3
- 1Andrés Cubas8
- 2Dayot Upamecano8
- 3Diego Gómez7
- 4Damián Bobadilla5
- 5Aurélien Tchouaméni5
- 6William Saliba4
- 7Matías Galarza4
- 8Omar Alderete3
- 9Ibrahima Konaté3
- 10Gustavo Gómez2
Paraguay- Julio Enciso
- Omar Alderete
- Antonio Sanabria
- Gustavo Caballero
France- William Saliba
France bid to take one step closer to reaching their third successive World Cup final when they lock horns with Germany’s conquerors Paraguay in the round of 16 at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, with kick-off set for 10pm UK time on Saturday 4th July.
France have arguably been the team of the 2026 World Cup so far, sweeping all before them en route to the round of 16. Les Bleus will now face a much-improved Paraguay, who stunned Germany on penalties to reach the last 16 for the first time since 2010.
Paraguay vs France predictions & betting tips
| Our Prediction | Odds & Bookmaker | Confidence | Why We’re Backing It |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kylian Mbappe to score 2+ goals | 3/1 @ bet365 (25%) | ⭐⭐⭐ | Kylian Mbappe has been utterly brilliant so far, netting six goals across four games. He’s bagged a brace in three of those matches against Senegal, Iraq, and last time out against Sweden, now he looks set to enhance his tally against Paraguay as he continues his quest for the Golden Boot. |
| Michael Olise 1+ assist | 8/5 @ SpreadEX (38.46%) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Michael Olise is sitting pretty at the summit of the assists charts with a whopping five assists across four games so far. The Frenchman now only needs one more assist to accumulate the most assists ever at a single World Cup, eclipsing Pele’s tally of five at the 1970 edition. |
Odds correct at time of writing. Please gamble responsibly.
How both teams head into Paraguay vs France
Paraguay
Paraguay’s World Cup looked to be over almost before it had begun after they were thrashed 4-1 by co-hosts the United States in their Group D opener. However, they responded admirably, grinding out a 1-0 victory over Turkey despite playing the entire second-half with 10 men, before claiming a draw against Australia, which was enough to squeeze through as one of the best third-placed teams.
Their reward was a daunting round of 32 tie with four-time champions Germany, yet Paraguay swatted aside their doubters to conjure up one of the shocks of the tournament. After battling to a 1-1 draw across 120 minutes, they held their nerve to become the first country to ever eliminate Germany from a World Cup via a penalty shootout.
Paraguay have reached the World Cup quarter-finals only once, in 2010, and matching that achievement would require an almighty upset tournament favourites in France.
France
France look absolutely formidable right now, and you get the feeling there’s plenty more in the tank. For starters, Les Bleus are scoring for fun, netting 3+ goals in all four games so far.
Star man Kylian Mbappe has notched six of those goals, while Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele has added four of his own. Not to be left in the shadows, creator-in-chief Michael Olise has already equalled the most ever assists in a single World Cup tournament with five.
Didier Deschamps’ side ooze quality, have a catalogue of star names, and crucially are unified and full of confidence. Excluding the penalty shootout defeat in the 2022 final, France have not lost a World Cup knockout match since 2014, while they have won 15 of their last 18 matches at the tournament overall, suffering just one defeat in normal time during that run.
Paraguay team news
Paraguay have tightened up considerably since conceding four goals to the United States in their opening group match, conceding just one goal across their last three games, including 120 minutes against Germany.
Boss Gustavo Alfaro is expected to stick with his disciplined 4-4-2 system against France, with Julio Enciso, who scored against Germany after setting up the winner against Turkey, likely to continue alongside Gabriel Avalos in attack for a third consecutive match.
However, given many players played the full 120 minutes against Germany, he could look to bring in one or two fresh legs.
France team news
Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, and Michael Olise will headline the France attack, but Didier Deschamps has a decision to make when it comes to the PSG duo of Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola, who have both started two games apiece, but after scoring in a start against Sweden it’s Barcola who would well get the nod.
Lucas Digne and Theo Hernandez have also traded places at left-back, while Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni could once again be favoured in the middle of the park.
Head-to-Head
France and Paraguay have met five times with the French unbeaten with three wins and two draws.
The countries have twice met at the World Cup with Les Bleus winning 7-3 in the group stages of the 1958 edition, and then 1-0 in the round of 16 in 1998 en route to lifting the trophy for the first time on home soil.
The most recent meeting was a 5-0 France win in 2017.
| Date | Match Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| 8th June 1958 | France 7-3 Paraguay | 1958 World Cup |
| 28th June 1998 | France 1-0 Paraguay (Golden Goal) | 1998 World Cup |
| 31st May 2008 | France 0-0 Paraguay | Friendly |
| 1st June 2014 | France 1-1 Paraguay | Friendly |
| 2nd June 2017 | France 5-0 Paraguay | Friendly |
Will France continue to pulsate in Philadelphia?
France have been a brilliant watch so far, scoring 13 goals. They head into this last-16 duel as the red-hot 1/5 favourites to claim the win in 90 minutes, but don’t underestimate this much-improved Paraguay side, who stunned Germany in the last round.
Still, it’s difficult to look past the French, given their cracking form and shining stars, including Kylian Mbappe who looks set to enhanced his Golden Boot prospects by scoring 2+ goals for the fourth time in five games, which is priced at 3/1 with bet365.
Similarly, Michael Olise has history in his sights as he looks to become the first player to register six assists at one World Cup, with this outcome available at 8/5 with SpreadEX.
Read more:
