NEW DELHI: France continued their brilliant run at the FIFA World Cup 2026 by defeating Sweden 3-0 in the Round of 32 and creating a piece of tournament history.Didier Deschamps’ side became the first team in FIFA World Cup history to score three or more goals in five consecutive matches. FIFA confirmed the achievement in a post on X after France’s comfortable victory. “France have become the first team in @FIFAWorldCup history to score three or more goals in five consecutive matches,” FIFA said.
Mbappe shines again
Kylian Mbappe once again led from the front, scoring twice as France cruised into the Round of 16. Bradley Barcola also found the net as Les Bleus maintained their perfect record in the tournament.With his two goals, Mbappe took his FIFA World Cup tally to 18 goals. He moved into second place on the all-time World Cup scoring list, going two clear of Miroslav Klose and just one behind Lionel Messi.France dominated most of the first half and finally broke the deadlock when Mbappe dribbled into the penalty area before firing into the corner.Sweden had little chance of making a comeback after the break. Michael Olise set up Barcola for France’s second goal before providing another assist for Mbappe, who scored his second of the match and reached 10 goals in World Cup knockout games.
Deschamps proud of his team’s effort
France coach Didier Deschamps praised his players after another dominant display.“A lot of pride and a lot of emotion. Before this match, we saw in the other Round of 32 games that no match was easy, ours included, even though we had a bit of a cushion. We could have been more efficient in the first half, but we have to appreciate what we achieved,” said Deschamps.
Another knockout challenge awaits
France have now reached the Round of 16 for the seventh time in their history (1986, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026). Only Brazil have a longer streak of consecutive appearances in this stage, while France’s run underlines their consistency on the biggest stage.France will next face Paraguay in Philadelphia on July 5. Looking ahead to the next challenge, Deschamps said: “There’s another match in four days, and that’s what we’re here for. We’re going to savour what we did today without looking too far ahead, otherwise we’ll quickly be brought back down to earth. We have to maintain the same focus, the same determination for the next stage against Paraguay, a great South American nation, very tenacious and talented. They’re not here by chance and have some good players. We’re going to take the time to savor this before preparing for this next stage”.
