Paraguay v France LIVE: Latest team news and updates from World Cup last-16 clash – UK Times

This evening’s clash looks set to become one of the tournament’s hottest, raising serious health concerns for players, tens of thousands of fans, and the wider region.

The fixture coincides with a severe heatwave gripping the eastern and central United States, where peak heat indexes are forecast to reach a dangerous 100 F to 115 F (37.78 C to 46.11 C), according to the National Weather Service. High overnight temperatures are expected to offer little respite, with records potentially being broken.

Concerns over extreme heat have intensified throughout the tournament, particularly after French players resorted to on-pitch sprinklers to cool down during their last-32 clash with Sweden in New Jersey, where temperatures hit 90 F (32.22 C).

Scientists have increasingly labelled Fifa’s heat safety guidelines as “inadequate” and “impossible to justify”, even for heat-acclimatised athletes, warning that spectators could face slower, less intense games.

The race for the golden boot at the World Cup is hurtling towards an epic contest during the knockout stage as Lionel Messi went back ahead of Kylian Mbappe at the top of the standings with Vinicius Jr and Erling Haaland also very much in the race.

The stars continue to dominate at this tournament, none more so than Messi after backing up a hat-trick against Algeria with a double against Austria ,before another arrived off the bench against Jordan and he inevitably scored again in their slender last-32 win over Cape Verde last night.

Not to be outdone, Mbappe has been in excellent scoring touch and a brace against Sweden took him to six goals, which is now one behind the Argentine icon.

Current Golden Boot standings:

1. Lionel Messi (Argentina), 7 goals

2. Kylian Mbappe (France), 6 goals (2 assists)

= 3. Erling Haaland (Norway), 5 goals

= 3. Harry Kane (England), 5 goals

5. Ousmane Dembele (France), 4 goals (2 assists)

= 6. Vinicius Jr (Brazil), 4 goals (1 assist)

= 6. Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain), 4 goals (1 assist)

= 6. Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), 4 goals (1 assist)

Germany suffered a brutal World Cup penalty shootout defeat to Paraguay to end the four-time world champions’ tournament in Boston.

After suffering from a controversial VAR call in extra time, to chalk off Jonathan Tah’s goal, which would have seen Julian Nagelsmann’s side go 2-1 in front, the last 32 tie went to penalties, with misses from Kai Havertz, Nick Woltemade and Tah enough to succumb to a 4-3 shoot-out loss.

German football entered a stage of crisis thanks to Jose Canale’s decisive penalty, which secured underdogs Paraguay a memorable victory and sparked wild celebrations, as well as booking tonight’s last-16 tie with France.

Liberte, Egalite, Mbappe. Or maybe it was Liberte, Egalite, Olise.

In brushing aside Sweden 3-0, France delivered another mission statement of a performance, another wonderful endorsement of their footballing philosophy taking them closer to a return to New York for a third consecutive World Cup final.

They are making history and making memories. The scorer par excellence and the creator nonpareil brought their artistry to the evisceration of Sweden.

One day, perhaps, Graham Potter and his team may be able to cushion their disappointment with the knowledge they witnessed something special from the same pitch.

Read Richard Jolly’s full report on the glorious last-32 display here:

France’s only injury concern is to back-up striker Marcus Thuram, and while Didier Deschamps might be tempted to rest some key men, Paraguay’s win over Germany might mean that he opts for a strong starting line-up similar to that used against Sweden.

Possible France XI: Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Olise, Doue; Mbappe

Paraguay will welcome back Diego Gomez from suspension, though Omar Alderete is yet to recover from a knee injury sustained in the final group game.

Possible Paraguay XI: Gill; Caceres, Gomez, Canale, Alonso; Almiron, Cubas, Gomez, Galarza, Enciso; Avalos

Not to look too far ahead, given we haven’t even played this match yet but who will this evening’s winners face in the quarter-finals?

The answer to that is Canada or Morocco, who are playing currently, with that last-eight clash taking place at 9pm BST in Boston on Thursday, 9 July.

Morocco currently lead Canada 1-0 with about 20 minutes left and you can follow along with that match here:

This evening’s clash is due to kick off at 10pm BST at the Philadelphia Stadium. A treat, on Independence Day, for the city where the American Declaration of Independence was signed 250 years ago.

The French were big allies of the American rebels in the War of Independence of course, so can they deliver another victory a quarter of a millennium on?

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on BBC One, with coverage from 9.30pm BST on the channel. A live stream will be available via BBC iPlayer.

Good evening and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the the World Cup last-16 clash between Paraguay and France.

We expected this to be France v Germany in a clash of old European rivals but Paraguay have earned their place at this stage instead by stunning Julian Nagelsmann’s (soon to be Jurgen Klopp’s…) side on penalties.

The South American outfit face a huge task against the most impressive side in the tournament so far.