France edge Paraguay 1-0 to set up a quarterfinal with Morocco - a rematch of the 2022 semifinal

The goal that decided it came in the 70th minute. Desire Doue drove into the Paraguay box, Diego Gomez caught him without playing the ball, and the referee waved play on. VAR sent the referee to the pitchside monitor, the review judged it a clear trip, and Mbappe converted the penalty. France won 1-0 in Philadelphia.

Paraguay felt they had been wronged - both on that call, which their players insisted was a dive, and across a night when the fouls flew and the cards did not. By the match stats, Paraguay committed 13 fouls without a single booking; France's 11 fouls drew three yellows. The refereeing drew open criticism from neutrals watching: former England goalkeeper Joe Hart called the performance "an absolute disgrace," and Thomas Hitzlsperger called it the worst he had seen at the tournament. Those are pundits' verdicts, not an official finding - but they capture how the game was received. What is not in dispute is the result: France are through, and Paraguay, who had knocked out Germany on penalties to reach the last 16, are out.

That result sets up the tie of the round. France will play Morocco, and the two have met at this stage of a World Cup before - in the 2022 semifinal in Al Bayt, where France won 2-0 and went on to the final. Morocco were the story of that tournament, the first African and Arab nation to reach the last four. Now they get the same opponent again, one round earlier, with a place in the semifinals on the line.

Morocco arrive as the first team into the last eight. They beat co-hosts Canada 3-0 in Houston earlier in the round, and they are now the first African side to reach the quarterfinals at two World Cups in a row. Their path was not a soft one: they drew the Netherlands 1-1 in the round of 32 and won the shootout, and came through the group unbeaten, including a 1-1 with Brazil. This is a team that expects to be here.

For France, the win keeps an unbeaten tournament going, but not a flawless one - a single VAR penalty separated them from a Paraguay side that made them uncomfortable for long stretches. The quarterfinal is Thursday, July 9 at Boston Stadium in Foxborough. Japan's tournament ended in the round of 32 against Brazil, so for a Japanese audience this is one of the marquee matches left: whether France repeat the 2022 result, or Morocco finally clear the barrier that stopped them four years ago, is the question that Thursday will answer.