Paraguay 0-1 France: FIFA World Cup Round of 16 Match Report

Paraguay 0-1 France, and a Round of 16 tie settled by the only goal, scored after a goalless first half. France's third consecutive clean sheet, and the narrowest of their three knockout wins.

Forty-five goalless minutes followed by a single goal is the tightest France played all tournament. They had beaten Sweden 3-0 in the previous round and would beat Morocco 2-0 in the next; this was the match in which an opponent came closest to holding them.

Paraguay's exit ends the most improbable knockout run of the tournament from the least productive attack in it. They had eliminated Germany on penalties in the previous round having scored two goals in the entire group stage.

Paraguay reached the last sixteen from Group D on four points, having lost 4-1 to the United States, beaten Turkey 1-0 and drawn 0-0 with Australia. Two goals in three matches. In the Round of 32 they held Germany 1-1 across 120 minutes and won the shoot-out 4-3 — the tournament's first major upset.

France won Group I with a perfect nine points, beating Senegal 3-1, Iraq 3-0 and Norway 4-1. Ten goals scored and two conceded, the strongest group campaign of the tournament by weight of numbers. They then beat Sweden 3-0 in the Round of 32.

Paraguay's method was clear by this point: concede little, score rarely, and take the tie as deep as possible. Against Germany it worked. Against France it produced another goalless first half and then the one goal they could not answer.

France advanced to a quarter-final against Morocco, winning 2-0, before losing 2-0 to Spain in the semi-final — their first failure to score in the tournament. Across the knockout rounds they conceded nothing at all until that semi-final, and this tie is the middle of that run.

It is also the match that best illustrates how France's tournament tightened. Ten goals in the group, three against Sweden, one here, two against Morocco, none against Spain — a curve heading steadily downward as the opposition improved.

For Paraguay, the last sixteen is a remarkable finish for a side that scored three goals in five matches. Eliminating Germany on penalties will be the campaign's headline, and losing to the eventual semi-finalists by a single goal is a fair way for it to end.