France's World Cup star Kylian Mbappé was at the center of a heated post-match exchange with Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill on Saturday, following France's 1-0 victory in the Round of 16 match. The incident occurred after Mbappé, who scored France's lone goal from a penalty in the 70th minute, celebrated with the crowd. As Mbappé was facing the stands, Gill extended his hand for a handshake, but Mbappé did not appear to notice. Gill then threw the ball at Mbappé.
Gill later stated that he intended to shake Mbappé's hand but lost his temper when he felt ignored. "I tried to shake his hand, but since he didn’t pay me any attention, I lost my temper," Gill said.
The match itself was physical, with several Paraguay players targeting Mbappé. In the 35th minute, Paraguay midfielder Andrés Cubas fouled Mbappé in the offensive third. Later in the first half, Matias Galarza made contact with Mbappé off the ball, and in the 77th minute, Juan José Cáceras kicked Mbappé in the shin. Despite the physicality directed at France, Paraguay did not receive any yellow cards for fouls during the game, while France was issued three.
Mbappé acknowledged the tough nature of the match, saying, "We knew what kind of match it was going to be. We can also get our hands dirty. We know how to do it. We know how to play ugly football. Guess they were thinking we were going to show up in tuxedos, but we were ready. Even at that kind of game, we were better than them."
France's coach, Didier Deschamps, also commented on Paraguay's tactics. "They pull out every trick in the book," Deschamps said. "It’s not the kind of football that draws people to the stadium. Each team played the way they want. But there were insults from the other bench that I could do without."