Kylian Mbappe: France Cruise Past Sweden to Reach World Cup Last 16
Mbappe scores twice and Michael Olise shines as France dominate Sweden to set up a knockout meeting with Paraguay.
Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring twice in France’s World Cup victory over Sweden.
NEW JERSEY: Kylian Mbappe scored twice as France delivered a commanding 3-0 victory over Sweden on Tuesday to secure a place in the World Cup last 16, where they will face Paraguay.
France controlled the match from start to finish in front of 80,663 spectators at MetLife Stadium and produced one of their most complete performances of the tournament.
Mbappe opened the scoring moments before half-time after a flowing French move, rewarding sustained pressure that had already seen France strike the woodwork twice.
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Michael Olise played a decisive role throughout and continued his outstanding form by creating France’s second and third goals.
The French doubled their advantage eight minutes into the second half when Olise delivered a precise pass for Bradley Barcola, who finished confidently.
Olise then produced another moment of quality in the 74th minute, setting up Mbappe for his second goal of the night and sealing an emphatic victory.
Mbappe’s double moved him level on six goals in the race for the tournament’s Golden Boot and brought his overall World Cup tally to 18 goals — just one behind Lionel Messi’s record of 19.
The France captain marked his opening goal with an emotional celebration, embracing head coach Didier Deschamps.
Deschamps had missed France’s final group-stage match against Norway after returning home following the death of his mother.
The tournament marks the final campaign for Deschamps as France coach, ending a successful 14-year spell in charge.
As a player, Deschamps captained France to their first World Cup title in 1998 before guiding the national team to another triumph as manager in 2018.
France’s 1998 title run included a narrow last-16 victory over Paraguay, and they will now meet the South American side again in this year’s knockout stage on Saturday in Philadelphia.
France’s attacking quality once again stood out, with Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola supporting Mbappe and Olise in a fluid forward line.
Sweden entered the match with attacking threats including Viktor Gyokeres, Alexander Isak and Anthony Elanga, but struggled to gain possession and rarely tested the French defence.
France thought they had taken an early lead when Mbappe finished after an Olise through ball, but a tight offside decision ruled out the goal.
That moment triggered sustained pressure as Mbappe struck the post, Adrien Rabiot fired narrowly over and Olise nearly scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick.
The breakthrough finally arrived before the interval and France never looked back.
With momentum building and confidence growing, France now head into the last 16 as one of the strongest contenders for the World Cup title.
