PHILADELPHIA (AP) 鈥� Kylian Mbapp茅 scored his 19th career goal, and France survived stifling heat to beat Paraguay 1-0 on Saturday, sending Les Bleus into the quarterfinals for the fourth straight time.
France advanced to play Morocco on Thursday in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
With an extreme heat warning in effect throughout the match as temperatures hovered around 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius), Mbapp茅 finally broke through against a physical, defensive-minded Paraguay side when in the 70th minute.
That was enough for Les Bleus, whose red, white and blue-clad fans looked plenty patriotic on July Fourth in Philadelphia, where the United States was founded exactly 250 years earlier.
Mbapp茅 was awarded the penalty when Diego Gomez was called for tripping after a video review. Then he on his way to his 19th goal in 19 World Cup appearances, one behind career record holder Lionel Messi of Argentina. Mbapp茅 and Messi each have seven goals in this tournament to top the Golden Boot race.
Mbapp茅 won that award four years ago in Qatar, but Messi and Argentina beat France in the final.
Mbapp茅 botched a breakaway attempt in the second half, and Manu Kon茅 had his top-corner shot knocked away by goalkeeper Orlando Gill after he was wiped out in the netting by Ousmane Demb茅l茅 only moments earlier.
Gill also stopped two strong attempts by Mbapp茅 in second-half stoppage time.
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