Kylian Mbappe double and Bradley Barcola strike puts Les Bleus into World Cup Last 16

A scintillating brace from Kylian Mbappe helped tournament favourites France brush Sweden aside 3-0 to comfortably book their place in the Round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup.

Les Bleus delivered an attacking masterclass under the grueling 32C heat in New York, completely dominating their European counterparts. Bradley Barcola was also on the scoresheet as Didier Deschamps’ side maintained their flawless start to the tournament, setting up a last-16 encounter against Paraguay.

The flawless victory ensures France completely avoid the drama experienced by other heavyweights in the round of 32, asserting their status as the team to beat in North America.

France established complete control from the opening whistle, pinning Sweden back into a heavily defensive low block. The front four of Mbappe, Barcola, Ousmane Dembele, and Michael Olise caused endless problems for the Swedish backline.

Deschamps’ men could have easily been up by three within the opening half-hour. Mbappe saw an early effort ruled out for offside and later rattled the woodwork, while Olise came agonizingly close with a spectacular overhead kick that crashed off the frame of the goal. Sweden keeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom fought valiantly, making a string of fine saves to deny Dembele and a powerful William Saliba header.

However, France’s relentless pressure finally told right on the stroke of half-time. Following a short corner on the left flank, Mbappe picked up the ball, glided into the penalty area, and unleashed a ferocious drive that arrowed past Zetterstrom into the far corner.

There was no let-up from the 2018 champions after the restart. In the 53rd minute, the brilliant Olise turned provider, threading an inch-perfect pass through the defender’s legs to find Barcola. The winger took a composed touch before smacking a clinical finish into the back of the net to make it 2-0.

Sweden manager Graham Potter attempted to ring the changes, introducing the likes of Besfort Zeneli and Mattias Svanberg to find a lifeline, but the French midfield pivot of Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot completely suffocated any attempt at a counter-attack.

Mbappe put the game completely out of reach in the 74th minute. Olise was involved yet again, cutting open the weary Swedish defense to find his captain in the box, who swept home his second of the night and his sixth goal of the tournament.

Mbappe’s brace takes him to 18 career World Cup goals, moving him into outright second place on the tournament’s all-time top scorer chart, just one behind Lionel Messi. France will travel to Philadelphia this Saturday full of confidence, where they face a Paraguay side fresh off knocking out Germany.

Cover Photo: Flag of France, Undated” by nathanh100 is licensed under CC BY 2.0 .