Discussions about France tend to focus on their in-form attack of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise, but it would be wrong not to mention their defence. With three clean sheets in five games at the , the French have shown game after game that they are also strong at the back.
in Philadelphia on Saturday, without really being threatened, was testament to that. At no point did the South Americans look capable of breaching the French defence of William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Digne and Jules Kounde, who dealt extremely well with Paraguay's physicality.
"It wasn't easy, but it also does you good to win games like that," Saliba told FIFA. "It's a World Cup, we know that wins don't come easily. We were ready to fight. We didn't concede, we earned another clean sheet and another win. I hope we keep this up."
Ryan Cherki, who came on in the 84th minute, emphasised the importance of France’s gritty determination in their passage to the quarter finals.
"It was important for us to play in a game like that during the World Cup, to remind everyone that while France can play nice football, we are also up for the physical battle," said the playmaker.
France may not have been as free-scoring as usual against Paraguay, but they will certainly take confidence from their solid defensive display, recording their third clean sheet of the tournament, along with those in the two 3-0 victories over Sweden and Iraq, respectively.
In fact, they that Mike Maignan did not have to make a single save, and he was only called upon once against Sweden to deny Viktor Gyokeres late on.
The French goalkeeper spent most of Saturday's game with the ball at his feet, hardly touching it with his hands – a sign that the South Americans failed to unlock France's solid defence.
"The coach warned us two or three hours before the game" explained Saliba. "He showed us some videos and explained that they would get right in our faces, commit fouls, and try to provoke us. We had to stay fully focused, because if our energy levels dropped by getting caught up in all that, we'd lose our way. We managed to stay focused."
Only conceding two goals thus far, the French defence can look ahead confidently if they continue to be so tenacious in individual battles and leave next to nothing for their opponents. Now it's time to see if their defence can withstand the challenge of Morocco, on Thursday in Boston, where a place in the semi-finals is at stake.
Sources: FIFA Official
