France overwhelm Sweden 3-0 as Mbappe brace ties Messi for World Cup lead

Clinical France dismantle Sweden

France continued their flawless World Cup campaign with a ruthless 3-0 victory over Sweden in the round of 32 at a sweltering MetLife Stadium. Kylian Mbappé broke the deadlock just before halftime, curling a right-foot shot past Jacob Widell Zetterstrom after a pass from Ousmane Dembélé. Bradley Barcola doubled the lead in the 53rd minute, and Mbappé added his second and France's third in the 74th, capping off a dominant performance. The scoreline could have been more emphatic; Mbappé hit the post in the first half and had a goal disallowed for offside.

Mbappé’s record chase

Mbappé’s double took his tournament tally to six goals, tying Lionel Messi for the lead in the race for the Golden Boot. It also lifted his career World Cup finals total to 18 goals in just 18 appearances, leaving him one shy of Messi’s all-time record of 19. His 10 goals in knockout stages are a new benchmark, surpassing the previous record held by Brazilian greats Leonidas and Ronaldo. Despite his feats, Mbappé remained fixated on the ultimate prize.

“I think the goal, as I said, is to go as far as possible - to make it to July 19th and come back here. … I’m also convinced that Leo is going to score more goals, so I don’t focus too much on that. I’m more focused on the opponents we might face and how close we’re getting to our goal: the final.”

Kylian Mbappé18

Lionel Messi19

Kylian Mbappé

18

Lionel Messi

19

Data from the article text

Deschamps and squad unity

The match marked the return of coach Didier Deschamps, who had been absent for France’s previous game following the death of his mother. When Mbappé scored the opener, he sprinted to embrace Deschamps, and every French player followed in a display of squad cohesion.

“Kylian knows how to defend. He scores goals too - more than anyone else. I told you from day one: he’s on a mission. … I said a long time ago that he has embraced his role as captain. The image people may have of him from the outside doesn’t always … reflect who he really is.”

Sweden proud in defeat

Sweden, who reached the knockout stage for the first time since 1990, were under no illusions about the task at hand. Coach Graham Potter acknowledged the gulf in class.

“We had to be perfect, and even if we were, I’m not sure that would have been enough, if I’m brutally honest, because the opponent was at a high level.”

Defender Victor Lindelöf rued the missed opportunity to keep it level at halftime:

“If we had got in 0-0 in the break, it would have been nice. They get goals pretty quickly in the second half, and then it gets even harder.”

Next stop: Paraguay

France will face Paraguay in the last 16 on Saturday in Philadelphia. Paraguay stunned Germany on penalties in the previous round with a deeply defensive approach, and they are expected to employ similar tactics against Les Bleus. Deschamps’ side will enter as heavy favourites, having scored 13 goals in four matches, but the coach warned there is still room for improvement. Mbappé echoed that caution:

“I think we’ll keep working between now and the Paraguay match to see what we can improve, because there are still some sequences that aren’t quite clear enough, there’s room for improvement.”