Mbappe is one behind Messi on the all-time World Cup goalscoring list after taking his tally to 19 in 19 matches in the tournament.

Incredibly, since 2018, Mbappé has scored more goals in the round of 16 of the World Cup (11) than Brazil (10), England (10), Portugal (9) and Spain (4).

After scoring 13 times in their previous four games in the United States, it looked like a frustrating game for France and their captain as they failed to register a goal attempt in the first half.

The extreme heat had an impact, and this match went down as one of the hottest World Cup matches of all time. The temperature at the start of the match was recorded on the official website of the National Meteorological Service at 38.3C.

The record for a World Cup match is 43°C, when the Republic of Ireland played Mexico in Florida in 1994.

However, France still found a way to overcome the heat and harsh tactics of Paraguay.

“We know how to play ugly football,” Mabppe said afterwards.

“They [Paraguay] We thought we’d show up in a tuxedo, but we were ready. Even in that game we were better than them.

“That’s their style of football: there’s no right or wrong way to play. They tried to beat us that way, but we won.”

Deschamps, who is now the first coach to secure 10 World Cup knockout wins, revealed he had ordered his players to protect Mbappe in the closing stages as Paraguay searched for a way back into the game.

“I asked the two bigger guys to go and surround Kylian at the end because they were going to take him down,” Deschamps added.

“It wasn’t easy. They used every trick possible. It’s not the type of football that attracts people to the stadium, but they defended well. It’s always difficult against these South American teams.”

Mbappé was attacked from the start, but remained calm and reacted to Paraguay’s provocation by laughing at their on-field tactics.

“I love how Mbappé behaved in this game,” Hart added.

“The Paraguayan players came after him from the first minute. When he laughed at the players, he was allowed to be arrogant.

“The referee did not help in any case. It is surprising that no Paraguayan was cautioned during the 90 minutes.”

Former Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger told BBC One he “didn’t respect” Paraguay for the way they behaved.

“If you are from Paraguay, you probably like the team, they are like warriors,” he added.

“If you are French or neutral, you can no longer respect them. This is not only embarrassing, it is even worse.”