Kylian Mbappe stays on torrid goal pace as France tops Sweden to continue World Cup dominance
For the second time in as many weeks, Kylian Mbappé put on an unforgettable show at MetLife Stadium.And from the looks of it, the French superstar will return to New Jersey for an encore.France continued its perfect run at the World Cup with another dominant showing in Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Sweden in the Round of 32, moving one step closer to the July 19 final at the Meadowlands, following Mbappé’s third multigoal match of the tournament.The French captain opened the scoring at the close of the first half, then pulled even with Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race by scoring his sixth goal of the tournament in the 74th minute, while claiming sole possession of second place all-time in World Cup goals (18).Mbappé, 27, trails Messi by one goal for the record but is more than 11 years younger and has played 11 fewer World Cup matches.“I don’t watch what Messi does.
He has always scored, and he will always score,” said Mbappé, who posed for a postgame picture with another legend (OG Anunoby).“I just think about helping my team.”France became the first team in World Cup history to win three straight matches by at least three goals and score at least three goals in five straight matches, enlarging its tournament-best goal differential (plus-11) after earning three group stage wins for the first time since winning the 1998 World Cup.Instead of a heavyweight bout against Germany in the Round of 16, France will next face a Cinderella squad from Paraguay on July 4 in Philadelphia.
A now-favorable path for the World Cup favorite — looking to become the third team in tournament history to reach three consecutive finals — would feature a potential quarterfinal match against Morocco or Canada.Every match of the FIFA World Cup will air on either FOX or FOX Sports 1.If you don’t have cable, you can take advantage of a DIRECTV free trial to stream it all.Prefer to check out the action live and in person? Shop World Cup 2026 tickets on SeatGeek and make su...