Mbappé shines with two goals and France advances to the round of 16

Kylian Mbappé became the highest scorer in the history of World Cup qualifying matches when he scored two goals as France beat Sweden 3-0, thus guaranteeing a round of 16 clash against Paraguay. With one goal in each half, Mbappé reached 10 goals in knockout games, equaling Lionel Messi, from Argentina, in the top scorer, both with six goals in this edition of the tournament.

Even under scorching temperatures in New Jersey, Les Bleus wasted no time and attacked their opponent. A Mbappé goal was disallowed for offside in the 20th minute, and he almost opened the scoring when he hit the post from a Jules Koundé cross. Shortly afterwards, Michael Olise attempted an acrobatic shot, but the ball hit the post again. Swedish goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom made several impressive saves but was unable to prevent Mbappé from scoring late in the first half. The striker received a pass from Ousmane Dembélé, deceived Viktor Gyökeres with a dribble and shot into the opposite corner.


Sweden had a chance to equalize soon after, but Elliot Stroud missed a clear goal, shooting wide from a privileged position. Eight minutes after the break, Bradley Barcola, in a well-worked move, scored the second goal for the French. Dembélé almost expanded, but Zetterstrom jumped to avoid the goal. Mbappé scored his second goal in the 74th minute, finishing after a beautiful pass from Olise. Sweden had one last chance to score, but French goalkeeper Mike Maignan prevented Gyökeres from reducing the score.

Paraguay, who beat Germany on penalties, will be France's next opponents in Philadelphia on Saturday, July 4. With their convincing performance, France places itself as one of the favorites to lift the World Cup trophy in New Jersey on July 19th. Didier Deschamps' team is looking to reach the third consecutive final, showing even greater fluidity and conviction than in the 2018 and 2022 editions. With Mbappé standing out, he and his teammates are in great form, and the harmony between him, Olise, Barcola and Dembélé seems almost telepathic, with Mbappé having already combined with Dembélé for six goals in this tournament, the most between duos since 1966.

Meanwhile, the 27-year-old remains humble, moving everyone by running up to Deschamps to celebrate, a week after the coach's mother passed away. Since 1998, France have lost just three World Cup knockout games, two of them finals, and it is difficult to imagine that list increasing if Mbappé continues to play at this level. A reunion with Argentina, the 2022 finalist, could be on the way.

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