Kylian Mbappe level with Messi at the top of the 2026 World Cup goalscoring charts as France swept aside Sweden 3-0 to seal their place in the last 16 with an exhilarating performance in New Jersey.
Mbappé’s brace took his tally for the tournament to six, matching the Argentinian superstar, while Bradley Barcola also got on the scoresheet on a night that underlined their status as favourites to clinch their third World Cup crown.
Ultimately it was the brilliance of Mbappé that provided the most memorable aspects of a dazzling display from Didier Deschamps’ men, who will now progress to meet surprise package Paraguay in Philadelphia.
A stunning overhead effort from Michael Olise struck the base of the post and Ousmane Dembele lashed the follow-up wide, before Mbappé finally broke the deadlock with a beautiful curling finish on the stroke of half-time just in the 45th minute.
Within seven minutes of the restart, France doubled the lead, as Olise drove at the Swedish defence and played a ball through Victor Lindelof’s legs to Barcola, who duly did the rest by rocketing the ball past the helpless Swedish keeper. After Olise came close with two chances, the third duly arrived in delicious fashion when Mbappé played a superb one-two with the Bayern Munich star before lofting his second into the roof of the net.
