Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro said his side had "fought like lions" in their 1-0 World Cup defeat at the hands of France on Saturday.
"France couldn't find the answers, and it took a bit of individual skill and a penalty given by VAR to make the difference which their football had not been able to do," Alfaro said after the game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Kylian Mbappe's 70th-minute spot-kick finally broke the deadlock in the last-16 tie and took France through to a quarter-final against Morocco, as Paraguay go home.
The South American nation were appearing at the World Cup for the first time since 2010 and had been hoping to match their run to the quarter-finals at that tournament, which remains best ever showing.
The tactics they employed to try to unsettle their opponents irritated France forward Kylian Mbappe, while coach Didier Deschamps accused Paraguay of issuing verbal insults.
"France couldn't find the answers, and it took a bit of individual skill and a penalty given by VAR to make the difference which their football had not been able to do," Alfaro said after the game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Kylian Mbappe's 70th-minute spot-kick finally broke the deadlock in the last-16 tie and took France through to a quarter-final against Morocco, as Paraguay go home.
The South American nation were appearing at the World Cup for the first time since 2010 and had been hoping to match their run to the quarter-finals at that tournament, which remains best ever showing.
The tactics they employed to try to unsettle their opponents irritated France forward Kylian Mbappe, while coach Didier Deschamps accused Paraguay of issuing verbal insults.
4 months ago
