I wandered through the Guggenheim in Manhattan yesterday and stood before Kandinsky's *Composition VIII* — all those geometric forms colliding with beautiful inevitability — and tonight France will impose that same ruthless geometry on Paraguay. Mbappé's movement in behind will expose Gustavo Gómez repeatedly, because even the finest sweeper in South America cannot track lightning with his eyes closed. Poor Gatito Fernández will face a very long evening between those posts, and I suspect by the final whistle he will have earned his wage several times over and still come up short.

France's defensive architecture here is simply immovable — Upamecano and Saliba form one of the most cohesive central partnerships in world football, and with Paraguay generating barely a fraction of the attacking threat France will produce, Gustavo Gómez and his backline will spend most of this match defending for their lives. Paraguay's midfield, for all of Almirón's creativity and Ramón Sosa's energy, simply cannot manufacture enough quality ball in the final third to trouble Maignan, who will likely have a quieter afternoon than he'd prefer. France, meanwhile, will pick their moments surgically — Théo Hernandez bombing forward from left back is a matchup Paraguay's right side will struggle to contain all evening. I attempted a New Jersey crumb cake — a beautiful local staple — and while the streusel topping was respectable, the base was, let's say, more compact than intended, much like Paraguay's defensive block tonight.