Kylian Mbappe drew level with Lionel Messi at the top of the 2026 World Cup goalscoring charts as France swept aside Sweden 3-0 to seal their place in the last 16 with an exhilarating performance in New Jersey.
Mbappe’s brace took his tally for the tournament to six, matching the Argentinian superstar, while Bradley Barcola also got on the scoresheet on a night that underlined their status as favourites to clinch their third World Cup crown.
But for some errant finishing and a strong performance from Swedish goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom, France might have more than doubled their margin of victory as they denied Graham Potter’s men any hope of causing an upset.
Ultimately, it was the brilliance of Mbappe that provided the most memorable aspects of a dazzling display from Didier Deschamps’ men, who will now progress to meet surprise package Paraguay in Philadelphia.
Having scraped through to the knockout stages after finishing third in Group F, Sweden clung on through most of a torrid first half in which a combination of fine saves and the woodwork saved their blushes.
Mbappe thought he had opened the scoring just past the quarter-hour mark when he fired home only to be pulled back for the most marginal of offsides, Adrien Rabiot forced a fine save from a tight angle, then Mbappe drove a shot against the post that eventually rebounded into the keeper’s arms.
A stunning overhead effort from Michael Olise struck the base of the post and Ousmane Dembele lashed the follow-up wide, before Mbappe finally broke the deadlock with a beautiful curling finish on the stroke of half-time.
Mbappe ran straight to celebrate with Deschamps, who returned to prepare his side for their first game in the knockout stages after missing their final group game with Norway due to the death of his mother.
Incredibly given the nature of the game, Sweden missed a glorious chance to pull immediately level as Anthony Elanga did well to fire in a low cross which was played back for Elliot Stroud to blaze high and wide.
France duly doubled their lead within seven minutes of the restart as Olise drove at the Swedish defence and played a ball through Victor Lindelof’s legs to Barcola, who duly did the rest by rocketing the ball past the helpless Swedish keeper.
But for a half-chance that fell to Alexander Isak, Sweden were simply nowhere, and after Olise came close with two chances, the third duly arrived in delicious fashion when Mbappe played a superb one-two with the Bayern Munich star before lofting his second into the roof of the net.
Mbappe was substituted with six minutes remaining and Sweden should have at least grabbed a late consolation when Viktor Gyokeres fired their best chance of the match straight at France keeper Mike Maignan.
Deschamps refused to get carried away by his side’s ruthless display, telling a post-match press conference: “There is always room for improvement. We have reached the round of 16. Let’s appreciate that. We know what is expected of us.
“We could have been a bit more efficient in the first half. We have reached the round of 16, but it’s only the round of 16. We have to stay calm.”
Sweden striker Gyokeres backed France to reach the latter stages of the tournament, saying in quotes reported by fifa.com: “Attacking-wise, they’re very well connected. They know each other well, you can see it, you can feel it on the pitch.
“If they keep going like this and keep their defence organised – if they don’t let the opposition create so much – I think they will go very far, for sure. They’re a very good team.”
