Paraguay’s goalkeeper says Kylian Mbappé was ‘disrespectful’ after their World Cup game against France.
Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill said that Kylian Mbappé acted disrespectfully during their World Cup round of 16 loss to France.
The match took place on a very hot day at Philadelphia Stadium. Mbappé’s penalty in the second half helped France, coached by Didier Deschamps, reach the quarter-finals against Morocco, who beat Canada 3-0 earlier that day.
Even though France had a strong attacking lineup with Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, and Bradley Barcola, they found it hard to break through Paraguay’s tough defense.
After Mbappé scored the penalty with about 20 minutes left, Paraguay lost their cool and made several rough and badly timed challenges.
Former England goalkeeper and BBC expert Joe Hart said Paraguay’s behavior was shameful but praised Mbappé for staying professional.
“I really liked how Mbappé handled the game,” Hart said. “Paraguay players targeted him from the start. He was allowed to be a bit arrogant when he was laughing, but Paraguay’s actions were a disgrace. If they were on my team, I would be pulling many of them off the field. I wouldn’t want to win or play like that. The referee didn’t help either — it’s crazy that no Paraguayan got a yellow card in 90 minutes.”
His fellow analyst, ex-Germany player Thomas Hitzlsperger, was even more critical. He said he had “little to no respect” for Paraguay because of how they acted.
“If you’re from Paraguay, you might cheer for your team as warriors. But if you’re French or neutral, it’s hard to respect them after seeing this. It wasn’t just bad, it was worse,” he added.
Despite several rough moments, including one player messing up the penalty spot before Mbappé’s kick, another putting his hand on a French player’s face, and a few others making aggressive moves, the referee didn’t give any yellow cards to Paraguay’s players. Meanwhile, Manu Koné, Barcola, and Olise from France were booked.
Even with Paraguay trying to upset Mbappé, the Real Madrid star kept calm. But after the final whistle, Mbappé didn’t shake hands with goalkeeper Gill. Mbappé started celebrating right away while Gill went to shake his hand, but Mbappé just kept celebrating. Gill then threw the ball at him, but Mbappé ignored it.
After the game, Gill explained what happened: “This is soccer. I offered my hand to congratulate him, but he ignored me. I got a bit heated for a moment, but then I calmed down. I just wanted to say congrats. They’ve had a great tournament and could win the whole thing.”
Mbappé also talked about Paraguay’s rough tactics, calling them “ugly.” “We knew what kind of game to expect,” he said. “We can play rough too. Maybe they thought we’d show up in tuxedos, but we were ready.”
France will face Morocco at Boston Stadium on July 9.