PREVIEW: France look to continue hot streak as they face Paraguay in the Round of 16 | OneFootball

In their first appearance at the World Cup since the 2010 edition in South Africa, Paraguay have surprised many so far, but they now face tournament favourites France, who have looked close to unstoppable to date.

Paraguay qualified for the knockout stages of the competition after finishing third in Group D with 4 points. La Albirroja were on the receiving end of a heavy 4-1 defeat to the USA in their opening game, but they responded by claiming a narrow 1-0 victory over Turkiye prior to a goalless draw with Australia to conclude the group stages.

This meant that the South American outfit earned themselves a tie with the Group E winners, Germany. Many expected Germany to pick up a routine victory, but that wasn’t to be. A drama-filled match saw the sides draw 1-1 and head to penalties, where Paraguay took the victory and advanced to the last 16 while the Germans were sent home, with Julian Nagelsmann being sacked as a result.

The standout performer for Paraguay throughout this tournament has been Julio Enciso with two assists and one goal to his name. Meanwhile, it has been talisman Kylian Mbappe with six goals who has led the way for France in their relentless campaign so far, in which they have won four out of a possible four.

Heading into the group stage, Didier Deschamps’ side were heavily favoured to top their group, and that’s exactly what they did as they demolished their opponents, Senegal, Iraq, and Norway, scoring 10 times while only conceding twice. A dominant group stage performance for ‘Les Bleus’ saw them take on Graham Potter’s Sweden in the Round of 32.

France’s star-filled attack proved to be a step too far for Sweden, with the front four of Mbappe, Dembele, Olise and Barcola combining together to progress into the next round with an impressive 3-0 victory, in their bid to put right the wrongs of the 2022 final and reclaim the fabled World Cup trophy.

The two sides haven’t met in a competitive fixture since the 1998 World Cup Round of 16, and on the day, it was France who were the winners (also the eventual 1998 World Cup champions) after a 113th-minute winner in extra time from Laurent Blanc.

Unfortunately for Paraguay, it is looking like they will be without one of their star men as Julio Enciso is suffering from a muscle injury picked up in their match with Germany.

The match is scheduled for Saturday, 4th July, 10pm BST and will be broadcast live on the BBC.