Paraguay fans hung a Kylian Mbappe mannequin from a tree and set it on fire following La Albiroja’s 2026 FIFA World Cup defeat to Mbappe’s France in the Round of 16 last week in Philadelphia.
In an ill-tempered clash, Mbappe scored the game’s only goal from the spot 20 minutes from time to take his team to the last-eight. However, the aftermath of the game saw the Frenchman ignore a handshake from Paraguay custodian Orlando Gill, possibly frustrated after a series of hard tackles and unpunished fouls on him.
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Gill threw back the ball to Mbappe as the Frenchman walked past, completely ignoring the Albiroja goalkeeper. The Les Bleus captain, though, didn’t react as he continued his celebrations.
Madrid Xtra (via Excelsion) tweeted a video of Albiroja fans setting fire to a Mbappe mannequin hung from a tree during San Juan celebrations.
Mbappe – who has scored seven times in five games at the ongoing tournament – said about La Albiroja’s play (as per India Today):
“We knew what kind of match we were going to have. If we have to get our hands dirty, we can do that. We can play ugly football. They thought we would turn up in tuxedos, but we were there. Even at that game, we were better than them. That’s their football – there is no right or wrong way to play the game. They tried to get at us that way, but we won.”
Didier Deschamps saw nearly three-fourth of the ball as they struggled to find a way past a stubborn Paraguay rearguard before sealing their place in the last eight.
Where is France’s Kylian Mbappe in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot race after win vs Paraguay?
France captain Kylian Mbappe has scored seven times in five games at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, joining Argentina attacker Lionel Messi atop the Golden Boot leaderboard.
Messi has since steered clear of a three-way tie wth Mbappe and Norway’s Erling Haaland by scoring the Albiceleste’s second goal in their come-from-behind 3-2 Round of 16 win over Egypt on Tuesday in Atlanta.
Kylian Mbappe, though, is four clear of the Argentina captain for most FIFA World Cup knockout goals, with 11 strikes. He also has the most multi-goal knockout games (4) in competition history.
Edited by Bhargav