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France moved into the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 with a commanding 3-0 win over Sweden at New York New Jersey Stadium, as Kylian Mbappe scored a brace—two goals in the same match—to lead Didier Deschamps' side into the next stage.
The result sets up a Round of 16 meeting with Paraguay, with France heading into the knockout phase after a controlled performance built around Mbappe's finishing and Michael Olise's creativity.
France had to wait until the final moments of the first half to take control of the match. In the 45th minute, Ousmane Dembele and Olise worked a corner cleverly before releasing Mbappe inside the area.
The French captain skipped past Viktor Gyokeres and placed a composed finish into the bottom-right corner, beating Sweden goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom and giving France the lead just before the break.
The goal also added another milestone to Mbappe's World Cup record. It was his ninth goal in World Cup knockout matches, moving him ahead of Leonidas and Ronaldo, who both had eight, for the most goals scored by any player in the tournament's knockout stages.
France doubled its lead in the 53rd minute through Bradley Barcola, with Olise again playing a decisive role. The midfielder threaded a pass through Viktor Lindelof's legs and into Barcola's path, allowing him to fire a powerful finish from inside the box.
After the second goal, France looked settled and confident, moving the ball with precision while repeatedly finding space behind Sweden's defense. Olise continued to shape France's attacks and registered his fifth assist of the tournament, becoming the first player since Thomas Hassler for Germany in 1994 to record five assists at a World Cup.
Mbappe sealed the win in the 74th minute after timing his run onto another defense-splitting pass from Olise. He curled his finish past Zetterstrom in a move that closely resembled his opening goal.
The brace brought Mbappe level with Lionel Messi on six goals in the Golden Boot race, the award given to the tournament's top scorer, while leaving him one goal behind Messi's all-time World Cup scoring record.
Sweden's campaign came to an end with the defeat, while France now turns its focus to Paraguay in the Round of 16, the knockout stage in which losing teams are eliminated from the tournament.
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