France edge Paraguay to reach World Cup quarterfinals
France beat Paraguay 1-0 in the 2026 World Cup last 16 and will face Canada or Morocco for a place in the semifinals.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
2 min read
France moved into the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over Paraguay in the last 16, according to Al Jazeera. The result kept the two-time world champions in contention for another global title.
The victory set up a quarterfinal against either Canada or Morocco. Al Jazeera reported that those teams were playing in the other match tied to France and Paraguay’s side of the draw.
France entered the knockout match as one of the tournament’s stronger performers, Al Jazeera reported before kickoff. Paraguay arrived with momentum of its own after eliminating Germany in a penalty shootout in the previous round, a result Al Jazeera described as one of the tournament’s major upsets.
Paraguay had been trying to reach the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2010. The narrow defeat ended that bid and sent France through instead.
Al Jazeera’s live coverage identified Kevin Hand and Rohan Sharma as the journalists handling the buildup and minute-by-minute commentary. The available updates did not list the scorer, venue, lineups or match statistics.
What the result means
- France advanced from the round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Paraguay.
- Paraguay’s run ended after its earlier shootout win over Germany.
- France will play the winner of Canada vs Morocco in the quarterfinals.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.