Mbappe's brace lifts France into Round of 16 of World Cup

France thrashed Sweden 3-0 with Kylian Mbappe's brace to advance to the Round of 16 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup at New York New Jersey Stadium in the US.

France struck just before half-time with Mbappe in the 45th minute. A cleverly worked corner between Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise released Mbappe, who skipped past Viktor Gyokeres before calmly slotting his finish into the bottom-right corner beyond Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.

The goal saw Mbappe score his ninth goal in World Cup knockout matches, moving him ahead of Leonidas and Ronaldo, both with eight, for the most goals scored by any player in the tournament's knockout stages.

France doubled their advantage in the 53rd minute when Olise threaded a superb pass through Viktor Lindelof's legs to Bradley Barcola, who unleashed a powerful finish from inside the box that gave Zetterstrom no chance.

Didier Deschamps' side looked completely in control, moving the ball with confidence and precision while constantly threatening with runs in behind Sweden's defense. Olise continued to orchestrate France's attack, and his fifth assist of the tournament made him the first player since Thomas Hassler for Germany in 1994 to record five assists at a World Cup.

Mbappe sealed the victory in the 74th minute, timing his run perfectly to latch onto another defense-splitting pass from Olise before curling an almost identical finish to his first goal past Zetterstrom.

The brace took him level with Lionel Messi with six goals in the race for the Golden Boot at the tournament, while leaving him one goal behind Messi's all-time World Cup scoring record.

As Sweden leave the tournament, France will face Paraguay in the Round of 16.