Mbappe brace sends France into World Cup last 16 with 3-0 win over Sweden
Kylian Mbappe scored twice and Bradley Barcola added a third as France comfortably beat Sweden 3-0 in New Jersey to reach the World Cup knockout stage.
Dominant French display
France controlled the match from early on, with Sweden's Alexander Isak testing Mike Maignan in the 3rd minute before the French took over. Mbappe, Michael Olise and Barcola all threatened, hitting the woodwork twice in the first half, Olise's acrobatic volley in the 36th minute and Mbappe's close-range effort four minutes earlier both struck the post. A disallowed offside goal for Mbappe in the 20th minute and a series of saves by Sweden goalkeeper Viktor Johansson kept the score level until first-half stoppage time.
Mbappe's record-breaking night
In the 45th minute, Mbappe cut inside from the left and placed a right-footed finish past Johansson to make it 1-0, his 17th World Cup goal. The strike moved him past Miroslav Klose into second place on the all-time World Cup scoring list, behind only Lionel Messi's 19. He then added his second in the 74th minute, calmly slotting home after another through ball from Olise, taking his tournament tally to six goals and drawing level with Messi at the top of the 2026 scoring charts. The brace also extended his record for most World Cup matches with multiple goals to seven and made him the outright top scorer in World Cup knockout history with ten goals.
Key contributions
Olise was instrumental, providing the assists for both Mbappe's goals and Barcola's 53rd-minute strike, which made it 2-0 after a neat pass through the Swedish defence. The duo of Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele have now combined for six World Cup goals, the most by any pair in the tournament's history. France's front three showed pace and precision throughout, pinning Sweden back and forcing Johansson into several sharp saves.
- Kylian Mbappe (goals)
- 2 count
- Bradley Barcola (goals)
- 1 count
- Michael Olise (assists)
- 2 count
Road ahead
France next face Paraguay on Sunday, 5 July (00:00 local time), after the South Americans eliminated Germany on penalties. The victory also marked France's seventh consecutive World Cup win against European opponents and their 15th knockout-stage progression since 1998. With four wins from four matches at this tournament, Didier Deschamps' side are among the favourites to lift the trophy.
