Mbappé scores – Kylian Mbappé scored twice and tied Lionel Messi for the World Cup tournament lead with six goals as France beat Sweden 3-0 in a hot, hazy match at MetLife Stadium. France’s win sets up a Round of 16 clash against Paraguay in Philadelphia and keeps it on cours
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — On a brutally hot afternoon at MetLife Stadium, the kind of day that makes every run feel heavier than it should, Kylian Mbappé decided he didn’t need extra space. He found it anyway.
In the 45th minute, he struck to put France ahead with a brilliant crossover step. Then, after Bradley Barcola added a 53rd-minute goal, Mbappé capped the scoring in the 74th minute to make it France 3-0 over Sweden on Tuesday.
The tournament math kept tightening as the match went on. Mbappé now has six goals, tying Lionel Messi for the tournament lead. The two-goal haul was his third in four matches, and it lifted his World Cup career total to 18—one shy of Messi’s career record.
France didn’t just win; it dominated the flow of the game. The team outshot Sweden 25-7, including 15-3 in the first half. It also outscored opponents 13-2 so far, and Michael Olise has assisted on five goals.
The record books moved, too. Mbappé now has 10 knockout-round goals—two more than the previous high by Leonidas and Ronaldo.
At kickoff, the scoreboard didn’t show it, but the weather did. The temperature sat at 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius), sunny and humid, with poor air quality. During the first half hydration break. defender Lucas Digne let himself be doused by a sprinkler—an image that captured the strange mix of desperation and relief players chase in conditions like these.
Mbappé nearly joined the celebration earlier. In the 32nd minute, he hit a post and raised both hands in disgust. Four minutes later, France came close again when Olise’s spectacular bicycle kick from just inside the penalty area clanked off a post.
Sweden learned what it means to play against a team with precision and speed. In the first World Cup meeting between the nations, Mbappé scored after goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterström tipped Olise’s shot just outside the post.
The goal began with a short corner kick from Olise to Ousmane Dembélé. Dembélé passed to Mbappé near the byline. Mbappé took a crossover step to get around Viktor Gyökeres and, from just outside the 6-yard box, sent a diagonal shot inside the far post.
He ran up the center of the field to celebrate his 61st international goal. colliding with Dembélé as the moment spilled across the pitch. Then he jogged to the bench to hug Didier Deschamps. Deschamps returned for the match after going to France for his mother’s funeral—one of the small. private facts that make the public drama on the field feel even sharper.
France added its second goal after Sweden made an error. Gustaf Lagerbielke lost the ball ahead of the second strike. Aurélien Tchouaméni passed to Olise, who nutmegged Lagerbielke. Barcola took a centering touch and sent the ball past Zetterström’s outstretched right hand. scoring in the 53rd minute.
Mbappé made the third feel like something the crowd could recognize before it happened. He entertained the stadium with a backheel pass to Barcola in the buildup. Barcola passed to Olise, who passed to Mbappé as the star sprinted into the penalty area. Mbappé steadied the ball with a touch and fired inside the far post in the 74th minute.
In the end, France didn’t just send Sweden home—it set the next stage in motion.
France, the World Cup runner-up four years ago and a tournament favorite this time, set up its Round of 16 match against Paraguay. The rematch week begins July 4 in Philadelphia, with the winner advancing to a quarterfinal against Canada or Morocco five days later at Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Deschamps faced one more emotional swing after Mbappé’s goals. When Mbappé was substituted in the 85th minute, Deschamps bowed as his star came off the field.
Kylian Mbappé France vs Sweden World Cup MetLife Stadium Lionel Messi Paraguay Didier Deschamps Ousmane Dembélé Bradley Barcola Jacob Widell Zetterström