France underlined their credentials as one of the favourites to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup after cruising to a commanding 3-0 victory over Sweden in their Round of 32 clash on Tuesday, securing a place in the last 16 against Paraguay.
Captain Kylian Mbappé delivered another masterclass, scoring twice, while Bradley Barcola added the other goal as Didier Deschamps’ men dominated proceedings from the opening whistle at the New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford.
France created several clear-cut opportunities early in the contest and struck the woodwork twice before finally breaking the deadlock on the stroke of half-time. Mbappé calmly finished off a flowing team move after excellent build-up play from Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembélé to give Les Bleus a deserved lead before the interval.
The French side resumed the second half with the same intensity and doubled their advantage in the 53rd minute. Olise threaded a perfectly weighted pass through the Swedish defence for Barcola, who made no mistake with a composed finish beyond goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterström.
Mbappé completed his brace in the 74th minute after another brilliant assist from Olise, curling a clinical finish into the far corner to cap an outstanding individual performance and put the result beyond doubt.
Sweden struggled to cope with France’s pace, movement and attacking quality throughout the encounter.
Despite boasting attacking talents such as Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres, the Scandinavians failed to seriously trouble the French defence and bowed out of the tournament after being comprehensively outplayed.
The victory maintains France’s perfect run in the tournament and reinforces their status as serious title contenders. Mbappé’s brace took his tally to six goals in the competition, moving him level with the tournament’s leading scorers while taking his overall FIFA World Cup career tally to 18 goals, just one behind the all-time record of 19.
France will now face Paraguay in the Round of 16 after the South Americans produced one of the biggest shocks of the tournament by eliminating Germany on penalties.
The highly anticipated knockout encounter promises to be a stern test for both sides as a place in the quarter-finals is at stake.
