Thierry Henry Shut Down Talk About Paraguay After France Got the Job Done

Thierry Henry didn’t have time for the conversation about Paraguay’s tactics. Not after France escaped with a 1-0 win in the Round of 32 on Saturday.

The former French international and World Cup winner was blunt in his postgame comments, saying he didn’t want to talk about the opposition at all. Football won, Henry said. I don’t want to talk about Paraguay. I want to talk about what France did, how they stayed composed, how Kylian Mbappe was laughing at the end.

It was a physical, chippy game from the opening whistle. Paraguay came in with a clear plan: get under France’s skin, slow the tempo, and try to replicate what they did to Germany in the previous round. They fouled. They talked. They stretched out stoppages. But they never really rattled the French side the way they probably hoped.

France ended up with three yellow cards, and Paraguay picked up one late. But Henry focused on what mattered to him: his old national team didn’t lose its head. Now, a lot of the players didn’t react to the provocation, although they finished, I think we took three yellow cards and one at the end for Paraguay, but at the end of the very day, that’s the World Cup, that’s how it is, Henry said. It’s not always going to be easy, but well done. They stayed calm. It was very difficult, and, like I said, football won.

Mbappe on getting his hands dirty

The only goal of the game came from Mbappe, who stepped up and buried a penalty kick that ultimately sent France through. But it was the work away from the ball that caught people’s attention. Paraguay made sure every pass was contested and every run was met with a shove or a tug. France had to match that level of physicality to keep control.

Mbappe didn’t shy away from the reality of it. We knew what kind of game we were going to get, but we showed that we are not just a team that can play attacking football, he said, via ESPN. If we have to get our hands dirty, we will get our hands dirty. We have no issue with that.

That mentality mattered. France looked uncomfortable at times but never panicked. They took the game on Paraguay’s terms and still found a way. That’s probably the most encouraging sign for a team that has sometimes been accused of lacking grit in big moments.

Up next is a quarterfinal against Morocco on Thursday. Morocco is one of those teams nobody expected to get this far, but they’ve earned it with disciplined defending and a knack for making things ugly. France won’t be surprised by that style a second time around.