Idman.biz
Former French football player Zinedine Zidane has strongly criticized the tactics of the Paraguay team after their match against France in the 1/8 finals of the World Cup 2026.
Sports.Biz reports that the legendary midfielder found it unexpected that Paraguay retreated into defense in a match where France won with great difficulty and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Zidane stated that teams at this level should play more boldly and ambitiously:
"To be honest, I was disappointed by Paraguay's approach and style of play. If a team reaches the 1/8 finals, they should be ambitious and fight for victory. What's the point of retreating into defense from the first minutes of the game? Did they come for a draw? If you only try to protect your penalty area against a team like France throughout the match, the opponent will eventually find a way to break through the defense".
The former French captain also expressed dissatisfaction with the refereeing of the match. In his opinion, the referee allowed the Paraguayan players to play too rough.
"The referee allowed the players to commit too many fouls. It was a very physical and tough game. But it's surprising that only three yellow cards were shown during the match, and all of them were given to French players. Even in the penalty episode, the referee did not apply a personal penalty and did not show a card to the player who committed the foul. The referee's leniency allowed Paraguay to continue their tough and defensive game with ease", - Zidane said.
Note that the French team defeated Paraguay 1-0 and advanced to the quarterfinals.
