French Face Extreme Threat. Didier Deschamps Not Hiding Concerns Ahead of Round of 16

France had already played in Philadelphia during the group stage, where their 3-0 victory over Iraq was interrupted for two hours due to a storm. "We expected it to be very hot. However, I think Saturday will be a bit cooler than Friday. I hope there won't be any storms this time," Deschamps stated at the official press conference ahead of the match.

He added that every team had prepared for such conditions, and the sheer number of matches in the tournament could also impact performance.

Philadelphia experienced 38 degrees Celsius on Friday, and the US National Weather Service issued an extreme heat warning valid until Saturday evening. The match is scheduled for 5:00 PM local time, which is 11:00 PM CET.

"We are aware of the challenging weather, but that's a disadvantage for both teams, so we have to deal with it," said Désiré Doue. France, with a full squad available except for the injured Marcus Thuram, is among the tournament's top teams, boasting four wins and 13 goals, with Kylian Mbappé netting six of them.

Paraguayan coach Gustavo Alfaro likened the French team to an "electrical storm" and emphasized that his team is accustomed to the heat and must cope with it.

Paraguay advanced to the round of 16 after a surprising penalty shootout victory over Germany. Another successful challenge against France would see them reach the quarterfinals for only the second time in their history, the last being in 2010. Alfaro praised the team's improvement; a year and nineteen months ago, they had slim chances and "lost" all their Copa América matches, but now they have become a competitive World Cup participant.

"The opportunity to participate in these matches is a privilege. Big teams might want friendly matches against us, but this is not a friendly. I don't feel pressure, but I want to win," Alfaro stressed.