Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Cubas is hot on the heels of Mbappe and, when he can’t quite get him, grabs a chunk of the Frenchman’s shirt in his hand. Mbappe goes down and draws the foul. When he gets up, Cubas gives him a two-palms-to-chest push. This triggers an identical retaliation from his opponent, and then it’s on for young and old.
Both sets of players swarm in and get involved in the melee, and Paraguay’s goalkeeper Gill rushes off his line and straight over to try and calm things down. Now it’s all smiles and “you’re right, mate” as Olise sets up the resulting free kick that is only just cleared by Paraguay.
Now Dembele has a crack, having sashayed into the box, before Mbappe cops it again via an arm from Galarza. Some clear frustration out there.
Paraguay 0-0 France, 40 minutes
Barcola, specifically. He’s late into a challenge on Caceres. It isn’t clear how heavy or how much contact there is, but Paraguay’s dugout make it very clear they believe it was very heavy. The referee reaches into his pocket for the first time and Paraguay have a free kick that they take their time to actually take, which is basically the story of Paraguay in the opening 20 minutes.
It takes less time after said set piece for the ball to end up the other end and for Kone to strike from some distance. It takes a deflection and flies out for a corner, which also flies out. But that was the first shot of the game.
Time for hydration.
Paraguay 0-0 France, 25 minutes
Like, really hot. Hovering around 37 degrees, according to the worldwide web.
The weather has not stopped the early exchanges of this match from looking exactly how one might expect it to look. France have 90 per cent possession and have completed 77/85 passes compared to Paraguay’s 4/9.
Didier Deschamps has made one change to the team who beat Sweden 3-0 in the round of 32, bringing Manu Kone into midfield in place of the injured Aurelien Tchouameni.
Tchouameni is out with a muscle problem, assistant coach Guy Stephan said.
“He has a slight muscle issue in the adductor area, although it is a somewhat broader area,” Stephan said. “He picked it up in training and will receive treatment and a few days’ rest.
“It is difficult to say today how long that will be, but we all hope it will not be for long. A return for the quarter-finals? It is possible. But time is also against us, with a potential match in five days.”
- Ounahi scores twice after Morocco failed to attempt a shot until the 28th minute
- Morocco lost Ismael Saibari to a hamstring injury in the 22nd minute
- Morocco will face Paraguay or France in the quarter-finals
Morocco dispatched a determined Canada 3-0 in the World Cup’s last 16 on Saturday as Azzedine Ounahi scored twice and the North Africans ended the co-hosts’ record run while advancing to the quarter-finals for the second time in a row.
The scoreline flattered Morocco, who were on the back foot for most of the opening period and failed to register an attempt on goal until the 28th minute after Canada had spurned a number of solid chances.
The tame first-half performance caused Morocco’s visibly frustrated coach Mohamed Ouahbi to shake his head on the touchline following misplaced passes and needless errors before his players turned things around in the second period.
“It’s a World Cup match and these are difficult games with teams playing for their lives,” he said. “We reacted very well in the second half in the second balls and the duels.”
I know, I know, it’s barely been 24 hours since the Socceroos were eliminated and why would we bother getting up so soon after the heartbreak? But hey, it’s also been barely a day since Cape Verde almost took Argentina to penalties, and wasn’t that match on its own enough motivation for another day of football?
Besides, the round of 16 started this morning, so that’s new. If you, like me, weren’t yet awake to see Morocco defeat Canada 3-0, then know that Morocco defeated Canada 3-0. More on that soon.
And also more soon on today’s other game: Paraguay v France, from 7am (AEST).
And if you’d like something to read as we get warmed up, well …
