France Beat Sweden 3-0 to Reach World Cup Round of 16.
France were comfortable 3-0 winners over Sweden yesterday to book a place in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16.
Les Bleus thought they had the lead in the 21st minute through Kylian Mbappé, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Sweden’s goalkeeper stood tall after that, until the 45th minute. Ousmane Dembélé exchanged passes with Mbappé and the forward curled a finish into the far corner to give France a 1-0 halftime lead.
France doubled their advantage eight minutes after the restart. Michael Olise’s through ball found Bradley Barcola unmarked, and he slotted home to make it 2-0. Mbappé added the third in the 74th minute, again from a clever through ball, to seal a 3-0 victory.
Olise is now one assist away from equalling Pelé’s World Cup record of 6 assists in a single tournament. The 22-year-old has 5 assists in 4 World Cup matches so far.
France also extended a historic scoring run. They are the only national team in World Cup history to score 3+ goals in five consecutive matches:
- 3 vs. Argentina, 2022 final
- 3 vs. Senegal
- 3 vs. Iraq
- 4 vs. Norway
- 3 vs. Sweden
Reaction
Aurélien Tchouaméni: “When you look at the attacking potential we have, I think it’s been extremely rare in the history of football.”
Bradley Barcola on Michael Olise: “Every time he touches the ball, it spells danger. He’s a genius.”
Kylian Mbappé on the Golden Boot race: “I don’t look at what Messi does. He has always scored, he scores, and he always will score. I’ve said it before.”
Mbappé on the next game vs. Paraguay: “I’m already thinking about the dressing room and the AC because it’s hot. We’re going there to win. If I want to look at what he does, I’ll have to do even more.”