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Kylian Mbappe produced another outstanding display, scoring twice as France defeated Sweden 3-0 on Tuesday to book a place in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The French captain struck on either side of Bradley Barcola’s second-half goal to send Didier Deschamps’ side through in commanding fashion at New York New Jersey Stadium. Victory sets up a Round of 16 meeting with Paraguay.
France dominated much of the contest but had to wait until first-half stoppage time to break the deadlock. Mbappe collected a pass from Ousmane Dembele before producing a brilliant solo effort to beat the Swedish defence and give Les Bleus a deserved 1-0 lead.
The french tightened their grip on the match eight minutes into the second half when Michael Olise set up Barcola, who finished calmly to double France’s advantage.
Mbappe completed the rout in the 74th minute, latching onto another precise delivery from Olise to score his second of the night and his sixth goal of the tournament, drawing level with Lionel Messi’s tally in the race for the Golden Boot.
Sweden struggled to contain France’s attacking quality and rarely threatened despite late opportunities for Viktor Gyokeres. Goalkeeper Mike Maignan was equal to the few chances that came his way, ensuring France kept a clean sheet.
Olise also continued his remarkable tournament, taking his assist tally to five, the highest recorded by a player at a single World Cup since Germany’s Thomas Haessler registered five assists at the 1994 tournament.
The emphatic win further underlined France’s status as one of the favourites to lift the trophy, with Mbappe once again proving decisive on the biggest stage. Sweden, meanwhile, exit the tournament after failing to find an answer to the French attack.
