EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — On a sweltering afternoon, France beat Sweden 3-0 thanks to two more Kylian Mbappé goals to advance to the Round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup.
Mbappé scored his record ninth goal in the knockout stage of a World Cup in the first half, breaking a three-way tie with Brazil players Leônidas and Ronaldo for the most ever in elimination games at the tournament. Mbappé had another goal later in the second half.
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France had a bevy of goal-scoring opportunities in the first 45 minutes, including in the 36th minute when Michael Olise successfully pulled off a wildly difficult bicycle kick, which hit off the post. The rebound came right to Ousmane Dembélé, who blasted a shot just wide of the top corner.
France had over 70% of the possession in the first half and far more scoring opportunities than Sweden (0.90 expected goals to 0.29) — and Les Blues were finally rewarded in the 45th minute, as Mbappé carved up the Sweden defense and fired a right-footed shot past the keeper and into the side netting for a 1-0 lead.
At halftime, France was up to a -4000 favorite at sportsbooks (97.5% implied probability), but it would add to its lead shortly after the break, as Bradley Barcola scored in the 53rd minute off a beautiful assist from Olise following a bad Swedish giveaway near midfield.
France continued on the front foot throughout the second half, and Mbappé finished off another gorgeous through-ball in the 74th minute from Olise to add to his record-setting total and make it 3-0. Mbappé now has six goals in this World Cup and 18 in 18 career World Cup matches. His two-goal performance also lifted him ahead of Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race. Both players have six goals, but Mbappé’s two assists give him the edge.
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France moves on to the Round of 16 to face Paraguay on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET in Philadelphia. Paraguay was a surprise winner in a penalty shootout over Germany in the first round of the knockout stage.
