PHILADELPHIA — After Paraguay narrowly went out of the World Cup 1-0 to France on a penalty awarded following a VAR review on Saturday, Albirroja manager Gustavo Alfaro said he could not criticize the eventual decision of Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev.

Tantashev initially waved play on after France’s Desire Doue went down under Diego Gomez’s challenge but changed his mind after the referee was summoned to the VAR monitor.

“I saw it at the VAR screen when they were looking at it,” Alfaro said through an interpreter. “I was behind the referee, and I cannot be objective.

“The referee has a first impression. He says that the player had thrown (himself) trying to generate contact. Then VAR ratifies that it is a penalty, according to them.

“I’m going to look at it more in depth. And when I am looking at the gameplay, of course, (Doue is) in the air, he’s very skillful, and he can move in that small space.

“I believe the leg was there. It is very difficult to withdraw your leg. If you go toward the ball and find the leg, well, that would be a penalty. What can we do?”

Kylian Mbappe converted from the spot in the 70th minute for his 19th career World Cup goal and seventh of this tournament as Les Bleus reached the quarterfinals with the shutout victory in the round of 16.

France advance to meet Morocco next Thursday in Foxborough, Mass., in a rematch of the 2022 semifinal that ended in a 2-0 French victory.

In his pregame remarks Friday, Alfaro insisted what his squad achieved was already exceptional. His nation will likely agree; Paraguay’s president Santiago Pena even declared Tuesday a national holiday after their shocking win on penalties over Germany in the round of 32 on Monday.

But Alfaro conceded the end of the tournament brought a conflict of emotions after coming so close against the two-time world champions.

“I leave the World Cup with peace of mind knowing that we played,” Alfaro said. “I am sad because I wanted to go further, and defeat will never make you happy, of course.

“I do not like losing at anything. And as I was telling the team in the dressing room, if you want to be a winner, the first thing you have to do is learn how to lose.”

With Alfaro’s contract up at the end of the year, the 63-year-old Argentine who has managed the bulk of his career in his home nation’s domestic league said he was unsure of his future. But he clearly holds a deep appreciation for his adopted country.

“Today I have open wounds. I’m bleeding. I cannot really reflect because I am overwhelmed right now. I think I need to wait for things to calm down,” Alfarro said.

“Things need to calm down and we’ll see what happens. I honestly do not know what I’ll do professionally.

“For me, there’s no better place than Paraguay. The country has opened up their doors, clubs have opened up their doors, the relationship I have with players, the relationship of gratitude I have with everyone.”

–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media

Colson Montgomery hit a tiebreaking home run and went 2-for-5 with two RBIs to help the Chicago White Sox snap a three-game skid with a 3-1 win against the host Cleveland Guardians on Saturday.

Chicago starter Sean Burke notched a career-high 11 strikeouts while holding Cleveland to one run on seven hits in six innings. Brandon Eisert (2-1) tossed a perfect seventh and eighth and Grant Taylor came on in the ninth to earn the save.

Parker Messick gave up one run on five hits in five innings for the Guardians, who had won three in a row.

Montgomery put Chicago ahead 2-1 in the top of the eighth off reliever Tim Herrin (1-4), launching a sinker 402 feet to right field deck. It was the 24-year-old’s 22nd home run of the season, surpassing his total from his rookie campaign last year.

Miguel Vargas drove in Tristan Peters with a sacrifice fly in the ninth to make it 3-1. Peters led off the frame with a double and advanced to third on reliever Matt Festa’s throwing error on a pickoff attempt.

An RBI double from Montgomery in the first helped the White Sox take a 1-0 lead. Vargas drew a leadoff walk. Then, with two outs, Montgomery connected on a fastball and put it into left field. Cooper Ingle couldn’t get to it before it rolled over the line and missed the plate on the throw home, allowing Vargas to easily cross the plate.

The Guardians came close to threatening with two on with one out in the bottom half of the frame thanks to back-to-back singles from Chase DeLauter and Kyle Manzardo, but Kahlil Watson grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Chicago had a chance to break the game open in the fourth with the bases loaded and two outs but a flyout from Vargas ended the threat.

Cleveland pulled even in the fifth when Austin Hedges belted a sinker that bounced off the top of the wall into the center field seats to make it 1-1.

–Field Level Media

Spacestation Gaming advanced to the grand final of the Overwatch Champions Series’ North American Stage 2 playoffs with a 3-1 victory over Team Liquid in the upper-bracket final on Saturday.

Dallas Fuel swept LuneX Gaming 3-0 in the lower-bracket semifinal and will face Team Liquid on Sunday in the lower-bracket final. The winner of the lower-bracket final will face Spacestation in Sunday’s grand final.

Six teams participated in a round-robin regular season, with the top four advancing to the playoffs, which run from Friday through Sunday. All matches in the double-elimination bracket are best-of-five, except for the grand final, which will be best-of-seven.

In addition to earning shares of the $75,000 prize pool, the top four Stage 2 finishers advance to Stage 3. The top three finishers also will qualify for the Overwatch Champions Series’ Midseason Championship, a $1 million event scheduled for July 29-Aug. 2 in Paris.

On Saturday, Spacestation opened with a 2-1 win on Ilios Control before Liquid pulled even 4-3 on Neon Junction Hybrid. Spacestation took over from there with back-to-back wins on Dorado Escort (2-1) and New Junk City Flashpoint (3-2) to reach the grand final.

Facing LuneX, Dallas won 2-1 on Ilios Control and Circuit Royal Escort before finishing off the sweep 4-3 on King’s Row Hybrid.

Overwatch Champions Series’ North American Stage 2 prize pool

1. $30,000, qualifies for Midseason Championship and NA Stage 3

2. $15,000, qualifies for Midseason Championship and NA Stage 3

3. $12,000, qualifies for Midseason Championship and NA Stage 3

4. $8,000, qualifies for NA Stage 3 – LuneX Gaming

5-6. $5,000, qualifies for NA Stage 2 promotion/relegation — The Kafe, Disguised

–Field Level Media