Didier Deschamps handed brutal blow just hours before Paraguay vs France

Didier Deschamps has been dealt an injury blow to one of his key players ahead of France's World Cup showdown against Paraguay.

France cruised into the last 16 with a dominant 3-0 victory over Sweden, as more Kylian Mbappe brilliance stole the headlines.

Mbappe bagged his third brace of the World Cup to move onto six goals for the tournament, with only Lionel Messi (seven) finding the net more times than him so far.

The 27-year-old will be aiming to produce more heroics on Saturday evening as the pre-tournament favourites eye a quarter-final spot, and the Real Madrid superstar will have to do so without the support of teammate Aurelien Tchouameni.

According to L'Equipe, Tchouemani will miss the clash against Paraguay after sustaining a thigh injury, while his availability for potential future matches has been put into doubt.

Tchouameni departed training on Friday with pain in his adductors, and a subsequent MRI revealed a small lesion requiring minimal healing time.

However, should France progress into the quarter-finals on July 9 as expected, the 26-year-old could miss out after starting each of their opening four matches.

Manu Kone is the likely candidate to start in place of the Madrid maestro after dropping to the bench against Sweden and should partner Adrien Rabiot in the engine room.

Record World Cup temperatures expected in France vs Paraguay

Although Tchouameni is absent from the central midfield, it's difficult to imagine France slipping up against Paraguay, who recorded a famous penalty shootout win against Germany to set up this tie.

Spearheaded by Mbappe's incredible talent, Les Bleus have looked unstoppable in attack, with Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola all playing a huge part.

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That attack is a frightening proposition for any team to come against, but in Philadelphia, they could face their toughest test of the tournament so far.

Near-record warmth is expected at the Lincoln Financial Field and will be one of the hottest World Cup matches ever played, with comparisons drawn to the June 27, 1994 match in Dallas, where the high temperature was 101F (38C).

An Extreme Heat Warning is already in effect for Philadelphia until 8pm Saturday, and the game is scheduled to start at 5pm. The high temperature forecasted in Philadelphia for Saturday is 100F (38C), which is close to the record-high of 103F (39C) 60 years ago.

To make matters worse, the threat of a storm will increase during the game, and Deschamps is prepared for the extreme weather conditions.

“I was with (France assistant coach) Guy Stephan at the final and semi-final of the Club World Cup,” Deschamps said on ​Friday. “We were in the stadium. We saw that it was quite hot, and we could discuss. And it ​did have an impact.

“Now, is this good for the players' health as soon as there ⁠are extreme conditions, whether it's heat or cold or a hard pitch? It's not ideal.

“But we didn't choose, so ​we adapt and we anticipate.”

A victory for France against Paraguay will see them play one of Canada or Morocco in the quarter-finals.