The French national team cruised past Sweden with a commanding 3-0 victory in their Round of 32 match at MetLife Stadium on Tuesday, setting up a highly anticipated last-16 showdown against Paraguay.
Kylian Mbappe delivered a sensational brace, while Bradley Barcola added another goal to propel Les Bleus into the knockout stages. Michael Olise produced a man-of-the-match performance, registering three assists to take his tournament tally to five.
France dominated possession from the opening whistle but struggled to convert early chances. The team twice struck the woodwork in the first half, with Mbappe hitting the post in the 32nd minute and Olise’s spectacular bicycle kick also clanking off the upright moments later.
The deadlock finally broke in the 45th minute. Olise played a short corner to Ousmane Dembele, who found Mbappe near the byline. The France captain executed a brilliant crossover step to evade the defense and drilled a diagonal shot inside the far post.
France extended their advantage eight minutes into the second half. Olise threaded a defence-splitting pass through the legs of Gustaf Lagerbielke, and Barcola finished confidently past goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.
Sweden struggled to gain a foothold in the contest, managing only seven shots compared to France’s 25. Sweden captain Victor Lindelof acknowledged the quality gap between the sides.
Mbappe completed his brace in the 74th minute, latching onto another sublime through ball from Olise and curling a precise effort into the far corner. The goal marked his sixth of the tournament, tying Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot lead, and his 18th career World Cup goal, one shy of Messi’s all-time record.
France coach Didier Deschamps praised his team’s performance but noted room for improvement. “We did what we had to do, even if we were a little timid in the opening 15 minutes,” Deschamps said. “The only regret is that we weren’t clinical enough in the first half.”
France will now face Paraguay in the Round of 16 on July 4 at Philadelphia Stadium. Paraguay advanced after stunning Germany in a penalty shootout.
