France cruise past Sweden as Mbappe, Deschamps etch names in World Cup history
Kylian Mbappe scored twice to move level with Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race, while coach Didier Deschamps set a record for most World Cup wins as a manager, as France defeated Sweden 3-0 to reach the round of 16.
France secured a spot in the round of 16 with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Sweden on Tuesday in East Rutherford. The match saw both captain Kylian Mbappe and manager Didier Deschamps achieve new milestones in World Cup history.
Mbappe opened the scoring in the 45th minute, cutting in from the left and firing a fierce shot inside the far post. Eight minutes into the second half, Michael Olise set up Bradley Barcola, who doubled the lead with a finish into the top corner. The French captain sealed the win in the 74th minute, racing onto another precise pass from Olise to beat the offside trap and curl the ball past the goalkeeper.
With these two goals, Mbappe now leads the all-time list for most goals in the World Cup knockout stage with 10, surpassing the Brazilian duo of Leonidas and Ronaldo, who each had eight. His fifth and sixth goals of the tournament pulled him level with 39-year-old Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. Mbappe has now scored 18 goals in 18 World Cup games, just one behind Messi's all-time record, which the Argentine equalled last week against Austria.
Deschamps, 57, extended his record for most World Cup wins as a manager with his 18th victory. He surpassed Helmut Schon's mark of 17 when France beat Norway 4-1 last week, though he missed that match due to attending his mother's funeral.
France will next play on Saturday in Philadelphia against Paraguay, who stunned four-time champions Germany on penalties after a 1-1 draw on Monday.
