Preview: Paraguay vs France - prediction, team news, lineups | World Cup 2026

Paraguay will endeavour to pull off another 2026 World Cup upset when they face tournament favourites France in Philadelphia on Saturday.

La Albirroja knocked out four-time world champions Germany to reach the last 16, while Les Bleus eased to victory over Sweden in their round-of-32 clash.

Match preview

There were tears of disbelief and euphoric celebrations after Paraguay’s Jose Canale smashed home the decisive penalty to secure a memorable 4-3 shootout triumph over Germany in Monday’s last-32 contest, following a 1-1 draw in 120 minutes of engrossing action.

La Albirroja proved many doubters wrong with a hard-fought performance to record one of the biggest knockout upsets in modern history. Prior to the tournament, there were 31 places in the FIFA World Rankings between Germany (10th) and Paraguay (41st) – a chasm that now stands as the fourth-largest ranking deficit ever overcome in a World Cup knockout tie since 1994.

Since learning a “very painful lesson” in a 4-1 humbling by the USA in their opening group game, Paraguay have shown signs of progression and a fierce sense of togetherness at this summer’s tournament, with manager Gustavo Alfaro engineering a spirited side that have been difficult to break down.

Indeed, just one defeat was posted in 12 World Cup qualifiers after Alfaro was appointed in August 2024, while Paraguay have suffered defeat in only five of their last 23 international matches across all competitions (W10 D8).

However, Paraguay have failed to beat France in five previous attempts (D2 L3) and they will be out for revenge against Les Bleus this weekend after suffering a slender 1-0 defeat in a last-16 tie at the 1998 World Cup, courtesy of a Golden Goal scored by Laurent Blanc in the 114th minute.

France are one of only three teams, along with Mexico and Argentina, who have won 100% of their games at the 2026 World Cup and have scored a tournament-high 12 goals in the process.

Much of that devastating firepower has been driven by a frightening front four featuring Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola, the former of whom netted twice in a comfortable 3-0 victory over Sweden in the last 32 on Tuesday.

The match also marked an emotional return to the dugout for head coach Didier Deschamps following the passing of his mother. Deschamps - who famously captained Les Bleus to the aforementioned World Cup victory over Paraguay back in 1998 - has extended his record for most World Cup wins as a manager (18).

Regarded as favourites in our World Cup betting guide and ranked No.1 in the world by FIFA, France have won nine of their last 10 international matches across all competitions (L1) and have also prevailed in 15 of their last 18 World Cup fixtures (D2 L1) since the start of their triumphant 2018 campaign.

Nevertheless, Deschamps is refusing to take Saturday’s test against Paraguay lightly, warning his France squad that their South American opponents' historic victory over Germany was “no accident”.

Paraguay World Cup form:

Paraguay form (all competitions):

France World Cup form:

France form (all competitions):

The view from France

Romain Lantheaume, TopMercato

"Paraguay's ability to endure, bend without breaking, and frustrate their opponents could cause plenty of teams to come unstuck. But not this French side.

With Michael Olise capable of picking out Kylian Mbappe or Ousmane Dembele inside the box from seemingly impossible angles, and with the two forwards' lightning-fast execution, it's hard to imagine Les Bleus falling into that trap.

One factor to keep an eye on, however, is the heat. With temperatures expected to reach 39°C (102°F), the conditions could play into Paraguay's hands."

Team News

© Imago / APL, Allstar Picture Library Ltd

Paraguay and Sunderland centre-back Omar Alderete is yet to fully recover from a knee injury sustained in their final group game and is expected to miss out on Saturday.

Jose Canale could therefore retain his starting spot at centre-back alongside 93-cap Gustavo Gomez, with full-backs Juan Jose Caceres and Junior Alonso completing the four-man defence.

Brighton’s Diego Gomez is available to return after serving a one-match ban last time out, and he could be joined in centre-midfield by Andres Cubas and either Damian Bobadilla or Matias Galarza.

Strasbourg’s Julio Enciso, who scored in normal time against Germany, and Miguel Almiron are expected to continue out wide, while Gabriel Avalos is set to start again as the central striker, though Antonio Sanabria will be pushing for a recall.

As for France, there are no fresh injury concerns to report; Marcus Thuram is still dealing with a calf problem and remains doubtful. A start is not on the cards even if the Inter Milan forward were to make a full recover.

Deschamps may be tempted to name the same starting lineup that began against Sweden, with captain Mbappe set to continue up front as he bids to add to his 18 World Cup goals and chases down Lionel Messi (19) at the top of the tournament’s all-time scoring charts.

Olise, who has registered five assists and is just one away from equalling Pele’s all-time record of six at the World Cup, is expected to continue in the number 10 role, with PSG duo Dembele and Barcola providing support in attack from out wide.

Manu Kone will be hoping to force his way back into the first XI after starting against Iraq and Norway in the group stage. However, Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni are expected to link arms in centre-midfield.

Paraguay possible starting lineup:

Gill; Caceres, G. Gomez, Canale, Alonso; Galarza, Cubas, D. Gomez; Almiron, Avalos, Enciso

France possible starting lineup:

Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Olise, Barcola; Mbappe

We say: Paraguay 0-2 France

While Paraguay cannot be written off entirely and will undoubtedly fight with the same dogged resilience, it is difficult to back against an electric France outfit who have scored two or more goals in 16 of their last 17 international matches.

Les Bleus’ devastating offensive firepower should ultimately prove too much for Paraguay, successfully unlocking a resilient backline that famously stifled Germany to secure their place in the quarter-finals.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.