France’s Kylian Mbappe during the warm up before the match FIFA World Cup Round of 16 ,match against Paraguay in Philadelphia Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. – July 4, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
Imagn Images via REUTERS
France coach Didier Deschamps made one change to the team that beat Sweden 3-0 in the previous round, bringing Manu Kone into midfield in place of the injured Aurelien Tchouameni for Saturday’s (July 4, 2026) World Cup last-16 clash against Paraguay.
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Tchouameni out with thigh injury, French sports daily L’Equipe reported on Friday (July 3, 2026).
Kone will be paired with Adrien Rabiot behind France’s four-pronged attack.
Paraguay line up in likely to be an 5-4-1 ultra defensive formation.
The winner will face Morocco in Boston on July 9.
Teams:
Paraguay – Orlando Gill; Juan Jose Caceres, Gustavo Gomez (captain), Gustavo Velazquez, Omar Alderete, Junior Alonso; Miguel Almiron, Diego Gomez, Andres Cubas, Matias Galarza; Julio Enciso
France – Mike Maignan; Jules Kounde, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Lucas Digne; Manu Kone, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola; Kylian Mbappe (captain)
(Inputs from Reuters)
