Mbappé leads France past Sweden to set up Paraguay clash

Kylian Mbappé scored twice and France beat Sweden 3-0 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, to keep a perfect record and move into a round-of-16 meeting with Paraguay. Bradley Barcola added the third goal, and the 80,663 crowd pushed World Cup 2026 attendance past 5 million.

France did not merely win, it controlled the match from the biggest moments. Mbappé struck in first-half stoppage time and again in the 74th minute, with Barcola scoring in the 53rd, a spread of goals that showed France was not relying on a single burst or a single scorer. Didier Deschamps’ side had enough pace, finishing and composure to keep Sweden pinned back and to turn a knockout match into a demonstration of squad depth.

The result was France’s fourth victory in four games at the tournament, a start that keeps Deschamps’ team on course for a third straight final after titles in 1998 and 2018 and a runner-up finish in 2022. It was also the first World Cup meeting between France and Sweden, even though the two sides had faced each other in qualification in 1970, 1994 and 2018.

Mbappé’s brace lifted him to six goals at the 2026 World Cup and 18 goals in World Cup play overall, strengthening his position in the Golden Boot chase. France now carries the sort of profile that has defined the best World Cup winners before it: a match-winner at the top of the pitch, a second scorer in Barcola, and a defensive structure that never gave Sweden room to turn the game into a contest of nerves.

Paraguay is the next test, and it arrives with a different kind of danger. After eliminating Germany on penalties, Paraguay has already shown it can survive a tense knockout game and force opponents into a more compressed, more physical struggle. Sweden could not exploit France’s concentration or rhythm, but Paraguay’s upset suggests a side willing to sit deep, stay disciplined and wait for a moment. That is the stress test now facing France, a team that looked complete against Sweden and will have to prove it again when the bracket tightens.