Paraguay vs France confirmed squads and full lineup as Kone replaces Tchouameni, TV channel, online streaming and stats
Paraguay and France have named their squads to begin their 2026 World Cup Last-16 meeting in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Didier Deschamps’ side won all four of their games in the finals, beating Senegal 3-1, Iraq 3-0 and Norway 4-1 in the group stage before going past Sweden 3-0 in the first round of the playoffs.
La Albirroja recorded a major upset by beating Germany on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the last 32, taking four points to finish as one of the best third-placed teams in the group stage.
The winners of the match will meet Morocco in the quarterfinals in Boston on Thursday (21:00 BST), followed by a semi-final against Portugal, Spain, USA or Belgium in Dallas on July 14 (20:00).
Dernière session à haute intensité pour nos gardiens avant le Paraguay 🧤🔥 pic.twitter.com/Fh9yqvg3Eb
— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) July 4, 2026
World Cup 2026: Paraguay confirmed group against France
Diego Gomez returns from suspension as one of the three new players in Paraguay’s lineup alongside Gustavo Velazquez and Omar Alderrete.
Jose Canale, Damian Bobadilla and Gabriel Avalos go to the bench.
Paraguay starting XI: Orlando Gill, Gustavo Velazquez, Omar Alderrete, Juan Jose Caceres, Junior Alonso, Gustavo Gomez, Diego Gomez, Miguel Almiron, Andres Cubas, Matias Galarza, Julio Enciso
Substitutes for Paraguay: Gatito Fernandez, Gaston Olveira, Fabian Balbuena, Jose Canale, Alexandro Maidana, Ramon Sosa, Mauricio, Damian Bobadilla, Braian Ojeda, Gustavo Caballero, Antonio Sanabria, Alejandro Romero Gamarra, Alex Arce, Gabriel Avalos, Isidro Pitta
2026 World Cup: France to face Paraguay
Manu Kone came in for Aurelien Tchouameni, who has a groin problem, in France’s sole choice to disband Blagult.
France starting XI: Mike Maignan, Lucas Digne, Dayot Upamecano, Jules Kounde, William Saliba, Manu Kone, Adrien Rabiot, Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola
France instead: Brice Samba, Robin Risser, Malo Gusto, Ibrahima Konate, Theo Hernandez, Lucas Hernandez, Maxence Lacroix, Aurelien Tchouameni, Ngolo Kante, Warren Zaire-Emery, Rayan Cherki, Maghnes Akliouche, Marcus Thuram, Desire Doue, Jean-Philippe Mateta
Where to watch Paraguay vs France: TV channel, live streaming online
Kick-off is on Saturday at 22:00 BST (17:00 ET / 14:00 PT). In the UK, live TV broadcasts on BBC One.
Live streaming on multiple devices is available via the BBC iPlayer app and the BBC Sport website.
World Cup 2026: Paraguay vs France statistics
- Les Bleus are the top-scoring team in the finals, with 12 goals, and have found the back of the net at least three times in each of their last four World Cup games.
- Kylian Mbappe has six goals in four appearances in the competition, which puts the Real Madrid forward one behind top scorer Lionel Messi, who has two more assists than the Argentina captain.
- Michael Olise has five assists and is one away from matching Pele’s World Cup record of six in one competition
- France have won 15 of their 18 World Cup matches since the start of the 2018 tournament
- Didier Deschamps recorded 18 World Cup victories as a manager, the most in the tournament’s history
- Deschamps, now 57, was captain when France beat Paraguay in the last 16 en route to the 1998 final, winning 1-0 thanks to Laurent Blanc’s goal in the 113th minute.
- Paraguay had won once before winning the World Cup, winning 5-3 on penalties against Japan in the last 16 of 2010.
- La Albirroja has lost one of four matches at the 2026 World Cup, but they have not beaten France in the last five meetings (D2 L3), losing both matches in the World Cup.
- They have not scored more than one goal in any of their last seven World Cup games
- With 33 goals in 31 World Cup games (1.1 per game), Paraguay has the lowest average in at least 30 finals games outside of South Korea (41 in 41).
- Julio Enciso’s first goal against Germany was Paraguay’s first goal in the knockout stages of the finals, having failed to score in the previous five games.
