Paraguay poked and provoked, and their strategy to be the bad boys against the big boys almost worked, at least for 70 minutes, before France found an opening and walked away the winners.

Paraguay played dirty, employing the dark arts of defending, but in the end, it was the two-time champions who had the last laugh.

At the sun-baked Philadelphia Stadium — game-time temperature read almost 38 degrees — France ground and ground hard for a place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. And at the end of the slugfest, they emerged unscathed.

The 1-0 victory came the hard way for France. It was not like what was on display till now for Didier Deschamps’s men.

On Saturday (early Sunday morning in India), France expected Paraguay to be very defensive. Five-man defence, two in front of them, Paraguay sent an early message — if you want to score, break us down.

France kept on probing, trying to create that extra space. Ousmane Dembele on the right, Bradley Barcola on the left, Michael Olise in the middle, and Kylian Mbappe upfront... None were given any room.

Mbappe went left to draw out his marker. But Paraguay were smart. Barcola, in frustration, got a yellow.

Mbappe was constantly chit-chatting with the Paraguayan defenders, hoping it would have some effect on them. But for a team which denied the world a France-versus-Germany last-eight clash here, these suited just fine. Because it showed they were true to their plan, getting under the skin of the French players.

Against Germany, Paraguay did not have to be this dirty because their rivals had already caved in and expectedly flunked in the penalty shoot-out, booking an early flight home.

Also, they did not have what Deschamps has at his disposal.

So at the hour mark, in came Desire Doue, replacing Barcola. And then 10 minutes later, came the eventual winner. Doue made a run on the left and was brought down by three Paraguayan defenders.

Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev awarded a penalty. Defender Gustavo Velazquez played the mind game and dig his shoes into the grass.

Mbappe was unflinching. He goes through these types of bullying tactics in La Liga every week. Mbappe stepped up, Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill, who was the hero last week, dived to his right and France captain calmly glided the ball the other way.

Goal No. 19 in the World Cup and seventh in this edition. Mbappe kept pace with Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who has 20 overall and seven in this edition.

“They (Paraguay) thought we would come play in tuxedos and do pretty plays, but no, we can play dirty football too. If we have to get our hands dirty, we will. Even in dirty football, we were better. They tried to get to us, but it was us who got to them,” Mbappe said at the pitch-side interview.

“The physical nature of the game made it difficult; they were intent on defending well. They were provoking my players and I had to tell them not to fall for the bait," Deschamps said at the news conference.

A statistical nugget will tell the story of how good Paraguay’s defending was. Despite playing dirty, for many it bordered on thuggery, Paraguay did not earn a single card. France got three. Barcola, Olise and Manu Kone.

Once the final whistle was blown, a pepped-up Mbappe was celebrating the hard-earned win. Paraguay goalkeeper Gill wanted to shake hands, but the Real Madrid star was not interested. Gill threw the ball at him and walked away.

Gill, who was adjudged Man of the Match, said: “I wanted to thank him, but he ignored me. Obviously, they are the contenders to be the champions.”

Paraguay leave with their heads held high. Dirty football, defensive approach of coach Gustavo Alfaro may draw flak, but that was par for the course.

Against a team with such attacking talent, the only way to play was the way the Argentine manager lined up his XI.

For France, next up is Morocco, a team they defeated in the semi-final of the 2022 World Cup. The North African team has six French-born players on their roster. France will welcome that. Known devils are better than the unknown ones.