PHILADELPHIA: France captain Kylian Mbappe declared that his squad is fully prepared to do whatever it takes to advance further in the FIFA World Cup. His statements came right after Les Bleus successfully battled through a highly aggressive and bad-tempered last-16 knockout tie against Paraguay, registering a gritty 1-0 victory on Saturday. The Real Madrid forward scored the clinical match-winner from the penalty spot in the 70th minute, beautifully bringing his individual tally for the current tournament to seven goals and expanding his monumental overall World Cup record to 19 goals. However, the 27-year-old forward faced immense pressure and continuous verbal goading from the physical Paraguayan defenders during the closing stages of the match in sweltering Philadelphia conditions.
“We knew exactly what sort of match we were in for today, but I think everything went really well for us,” Mbappe reflected during the post-match interaction. “They probably thought we’d turn up on the pitch in tuxedos, expecting us to just show off some spectacular attacking moves. But we definitely know how to play the dirty game too. And we showcased exactly that today; we won the match, and even in that aggressive aspect, we proved to be better than them.” The prolific striker further added that their performance demonstrated that France is not merely a side that relies strictly on beautiful, fluid attacking football. “If a situation arises where we absolutely have to get our hands dirty to secure a result, we will get our hands dirty without any hesitation. Apologies for the choice of expression, but we have absolutely no problem adjusting to that style.”
The intense meeting with the South American nation turned into a highly scrappy affair on the pitch, though it somehow resulted in only three yellow cards being issued by Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev—all received by the French players. The friction peaked as Mbappe was preparing to take his crucial penalty, with both sets of players dramatically squaring off against each other, while the Paraguayan contingent aggressively tried to dig up the turf around the penalty spot to disrupt the kick. “That’s their signature football style, that’s just their way of playing the game,” Mbappe calmly noted. “Every international team plays to their respective strengths; there is honestly no absolute right or wrong way to play football. There is only one ultimate way, and that is simply to win. They tried their best to get the better of us using those tactics, but we managed to get the better of them in that department as well. Now, we are successfully moving on to the next major stage of the tournament.” France is scheduled to face Morocco in the upcoming high-profile quarter-final match next Thursday in Boston, which will serve as a direct repeat of the iconic 2022 semi-final that France won 2-0. Commenting on the much-anticipated last-eight clash, Mbappe added, “We know they are a very disciplined and good team, and we are really looking forward to playing against them.”
ലഘു വിവരണം
ശനിയാഴ്ച ഫിലാഡൽഫിയയിൽ നടന്ന ആവേശകരമായ പ്രീ-ക്വാർട്ടർ പോരാട്ടത്തിൽ പരാഗ്വെയെ 1-0 ന് തോൽപ്പിച്ച് ഫ്രാൻസ് ലോകകപ്പ് ക്വാർട്ടറിൽ പ്രവേശിച്ചു. 70-ാം മിനിറ്റിൽ ലഭിച്ച പെനാൽറ്റി ലക്ഷ്യത്തിലെത്തിച്ച് ക്യാപ്റ്റൻ കിലിയൻ എംബാപ്പെയാണ് ടീമിന്റെ വിജയഗോൾ നേടിയത്. കളി ജയിക്കാൻ ഏത് കടുത്ത ശൈലിയും പുറത്തെടുക്കാൻ തങ്ങൾ സന്നദ്ധരാണെന്ന് മത്സരശേഷം എംബാപ്പെ വ്യക്തമാക്കി. വരും വ്യാഴാഴ്ച ബോസ്റ്റണിൽ നടക്കുന്ന ക്വാർട്ടർ ഫൈനൽ പോരാട്ടത്തിൽ ഫ്രാൻസ് മൊറോക്കോയെ നേരിടും.
(With inputs from Gulf News)
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