With the victory, France became the first nation in FIFA World Cup history to score at least three goals in five consecutive matches….reports Asian Lite News Desk
Kylian Mbappe struck twice as France cruised to a commanding 3-0 victory over Sweden to book their place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16, while moving to within one goal of Lionel Messi on the tournament’s all-time scoring charts.
Bradley Barcola also found the net as Didier Deschamps’ side maintained their perfect run at the tournament and extended a remarkable scoring streak.
With the victory, France became the first nation in FIFA World Cup history to score at least three goals in five consecutive matches.
Mbappe’s double took his World Cup tally to 18 goals, moving him into outright second place on the all-time list. The French captain is now one goal behind Lionel Messi and two ahead of Miroslav Klose.
France dominated much of the first half but had to wait until Mbappe danced past defenders inside the penalty area before firing a clinical finish into the corner to break the deadlock.
Sweden’s hopes of mounting a comeback faded soon after the restart. Michael Olise unlocked the defence with a perfectly weighted pass for Bradley Barcola, who emphatically doubled France’s lead.
Olise then turned provider again, threading another exquisite through ball for Mbappe, who calmly slotted home his second goal of the night to register his 10th World Cup knockout-stage goal.
“A lot of pride and a lot of emotion. Before this match, we saw in the other Round of 32 games that no match was easy, ours included, even though we had a bit of a cushion. We could have been more efficient in the first half, but we have to appreciate what we achieved,” France coach Didier Deschamps said.
France have now reached the World Cup Round of 16 for the seventh time, following appearances in 1986, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2022. Among current teams, only Brazil have enjoyed a longer streak of consecutive appearances at this stage.
Les Bleus will face Paraguay in Philadelphia on July 5 as they continue their pursuit of a third successive World Cup final.
“There’s another match in four days, and that’s what we’re here for. We’re going to savour what we did today without looking too far ahead, otherwise we’ll quickly be brought back down to earth. We have to maintain the same focus, the same determination for the next stage against Paraguay, a great South American nation, very tenacious and talented. They’re not here by chance and have some good players. We’re going to take the time to savour this before preparing for this next stage,” Deschamps added.
