Paraguay has been labeled a "disgrace" and "embarrassing" by BBC pundits following their 1-0 World Cup defeat to France, with critics decrying the team's "dirty" and overly aggressive tactics.
During the last-16 match, Paraguayan players repeatedly fouled their French opponents, feigned injuries, and engaged in what was described as overly aggressive conduct. Pundits noted that the penalty spot was scuffed, a player elbowed an opponent, and instances of play-acting were observed, all without a single Paraguayan player receiving a booking from the referee.
Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart was particularly critical, stating, "The Paraguayan players were an absolute disgrace tonight. If they were on my team, I'd be dragging half of them off the pitch." He added that he would "never want to win that way" and expressed astonishment at the lack of bookings. Hart commended France for their ability to "grind out a result" despite the provocation.
French players reportedly showed frustration with the treatment but managed to maintain their composure. Kylian Mbappe, who scored the winning penalty, responded to the tactics after the game, saying, "If they tell us to fk off, we will also tell them to fk off." He elaborated, "If we have to get our hands dirty, we'll do it... They thought we'd just turn up in tuxedos, make a few flashy moves and play a few passes. We know how to play rough football too. And that’s exactly what we did today – we won. We were even better than them at that."
Micah Richards, also a pundit, agreed with Hart's assessment, expressing disappointment as he felt Paraguay did not need to resort to such tactics, especially after demonstrating strong defensive play in a previous win against Germany. "Paraguay are better than that though," Richards stated. "Defensively they were so good, they were organised, they don't need to get into these sort of antics, it was embarrassing to see."
Former Aston Villa and West Ham midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger indicated a loss of respect for the Paraguayan team due to their behavior, particularly concerning a penalty incident. "I had a lot of respect for Paraguay heading into the game," Hitzlsperger said. "I have little to no respect anymore for this Paraguay team, the way they behaved on the penalty incident."
France, described as the most impressive team of the World Cup so far, demonstrated a different facet of their game by maintaining composure amidst the hostility. This resilience is seen as a valuable asset as they prepare to face Morocco in the quarter-finals.