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Led by star forward Kylian Mbappé, pre-tournament favorite France continued its dominant run at the FIFA World Cup 2026 with another record-setting performance.
Mbappé broke the record for the most goals scored in FIFA World Cup knockout matches as France defeated Sweden 3-0, securing the country’s largest margin of victory in a World Cup knockout game since its 3-0 triumph over Brazil in the 1998 final.
Co-host Mexico also advanced to the round of 16 with a 2-0 victory over Ecuador, delighting home supporters with another composed performance. Mexico has maintained a perfect record in the tournament, defeating South Africa 2-0, South Korea 1-0, Czechia 3-0, and Ecuador 2-0. The team has yet to concede a goal in four matches.
Norway also progressed to the round of 16 with a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast and will face Brazil on July 4.
France has now won all four of its World Cup matches while scoring at least three goals in each. The French side opened the tournament with a 3-1 win over Senegal, followed with a 3-0 victory over Iraq, a 4-1 win over Norway, and its latest 3-0 result against Sweden.
Mbappé has been central to France’s impressive campaign. His two-goal performance against Sweden moved him within one goal of Lionel Messi on the tournament’s all-time scoring list and tied the Argentine captain for the Golden Boot lead with six goals in this year’s competition.
The victory also set up a round-of-16 meeting with Paraguay, which eliminated Germany to reach the knockout stage.
“I’m very aware of who I am, how I play, what I shall do, but it’s not just about me,” Mbappé said through a translator. “The entire team is aware of what should be done. It is a new competition that has started today. We did play well, but we were timid. We could have done better at the beginning.”
Mbappé opened the scoring in the 45th minute with an impressive individual effort after beating his defender with a skillful move. The goal was his ninth in World Cup knockout matches, moving him past Brazilian legends Leonidas and Ronaldo for the most knockout-stage goals in tournament history.
The 27-year-old immediately celebrated with coach Didier Deschamps, who returned to the sidelines after missing France’s final group-stage match against Norway following the death of his mother.
France extended its lead early in the second half when Bradley Barcola found the net. Mbappé then sealed the victory in the 74th minute, finishing a well-weighted pass from Michael Olise into the far corner.
Mbappé has now scored 18 goals in 18 FIFA World Cup appearances, leaving him one goal behind Messi, who has scored 19 goals in 29 World Cup matches.
