France cruised into the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup with a convincing 3-0 victory over Sweden, as captain Kylian Mbappé and head coach Didier Deschamps both set new tournament records.
Mbappé opened the scoring just before half-time, cutting in from the left before unleashing a powerful strike into the far corner in the 45th minute to give France a deserved lead.
Eight minutes after the restart, Michael Olise split Sweden’s defence with a perfectly weighted through ball for Bradley Barcola, who calmly fired into the top corner to double the advantage.
Mbappé completed the rout in the 74th minute after racing onto another defence-splitting pass from Olise. The France captain beat the offside trap before curling a first-time finish beyond the goalkeeper for his second goal of the night.
The brace saw Mbappé make FIFA World Cup history by becoming the outright leading scorer in the tournament’s knockout rounds with 10 goals, surpassing Brazilian legends Leônidas and Ronaldo, who each scored eight.
His sixth goal of the tournament also moved him level with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot, while his overall World Cup tally climbed to 18 goals in just 18 appearances—one behind Messi’s all-time World Cup scoring record of 19.
On the touchline, Deschamps also strengthened his place in the history books. The 57-year-old extended his record as the most successful coach in FIFA World Cup history with 18 victories, having surpassed former Germany manager Helmut Schön’s mark of 17 during France’s 4-1 win over Norway earlier in the tournament.
France will now face Paraguay in the Round of 16 on Saturday in Philadelphia after the South Americans stunned four-time champions Germany in a dramatic penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw.
With Mbappé in record-breaking form and France gathering momentum, Les Bleus remain among the strongest contenders for the 2026 FIFA World Cup title.
