Zlatan Ibrahimovic spots Paraguay’s ‘trick’ against France that he says he would have missed too
Zlatan Ibrahimovic really saw right through Paraguay’s game plan in their 1-0 World Cup last-16 loss to France, and he shared how he would have handled it if he were playing for France.
Didier Deschamps’ team made it to the quarter-finals thanks to Kylian Mbappe’s penalty in the 70th minute in Philadelphia.
Before the penalty, Paraguay’s players tried to mess with the penalty spot—a sneaky move among several tricky tactics they used during the match.
Paraguay kept targeting the French players, especially Mbappe, over the 98 minutes and committed 13 fouls.
Still, France stayed calm, and Mbappe even laughed when a group of Paraguay defenders approached him in second-half stoppage time.
Coach Didier Deschamps said he told the two biggest players on his team to stick close to Mbappe at the end to avoid any trouble.
Besides the rough play, Paraguay didn’t really threaten France’s goal, managing only five shots total.
Speaking on FOX Sports, Zlatan Ibrahimovic explained what he would’ve done if he’d been out there and how France handled Paraguay’s tactics.
“It was a different challenge for them,” he said. “They had to stay calm, not get provoked, keep their balance, and not fall for their tricks.”
When asked if those matches are tough to play, Zlatan smiled and said, “I’d probably get four red cards in this game! Maybe even send somebody off. But that’s how it is.”
“I like playing real football. I don’t like when people try to provoke you. But it’s part of the game, even though it shouldn’t be.”
He praised France for staying cool. “They showed calm and relaxed. They did what they needed—smiled, scored goals, won the match, and now they’ll celebrate with the fans. That’s the best way to respond.”
After the game, Mbappe spoke to the media with FIFA and said he was proud of how France handled everything during the match.
“We knew what kind of game it was going to be,” he said. “We played well and showed we’re not just about attacking football. If we needed to get a bit rough, we could do that too.”
“They thought we’d just play fancy football, but we know how to play tough when needed. We did that today, won, and were better even in that area.”
Next up, France will face Morocco in the quarter-finals. Morocco is one of only two African teams left in the tournament, after they beat co-host Canada 3-0 earlier on Saturday.