This Saturday, the French national team will face Paraguay in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16 at 11:00 PM at the Philadelphia stadium. Ahead of the match, Le Parisien and L’Équipe have attempted to predict the lineups that French head coach Didier Deschamps and his Paraguayan counterpart, Gustavo Alfaro, will field. The match involves five Paris Saint-Germain players—all French: Lucas Hernandez, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, and Ousmane Dembélé.
Paraguay (4-4-2) –
Avalos – Enciso
Galarza – Cubas – Gomez – Almiron
Alonso – Canale – Gomez – Caceres
Gil
France (4-2-3-1) –
Mbappé
Barcola – Olise -Dembélé
Rabiot – Tchouaméni
Digne – Saliba – Upamecano – Koundé
Maignan.
These lineups are entirely plausible given the available players and recent matches, even though the Paraguayans might line up in a 4-1-4-1 rather than a 4-4-2. Paraguay is expected to adopt a defensive approach, just as they did against Germany; this is one of their strengths, and France possesses a formidable attack that poses a real threat. In this regard, the biggest uncertainty remains the choice between Bradley Barcola and Désiré Doué on the left flank.
However, surprises are always possible, even though the media is often reliable when it comes to Deschamps’ selections. He has plenty of options in his squad, leaving the door open for significant tactical decisions.
