France continue immaculate form, Mbappe chases history

The French notched another easy win at the 2026 World Cup tuesday afternoon in what visually amounted to be a scrimmage against Sweden, Kylian Mbappe notching another brace and Bradley Barcola adding a goal of his own in a dominant 3-0 win. The Swedes were thoroughly outmatched from the jump, France putting up 15 shots in just the first half—Mbappe finally breaking through with the opener in the 45th minute. It wasn’t for the lack of keeper Jacob Zetterström trying his damn best, making 9 saves across the match and limiting the damage as much as he could. Mbappe’s second goal in the 74th minute saw him become the all-time leading World Cup knockout round goalscorer. As a reminder, he’s only 27 years old. The world-class striker also tied Lionel Messi (6 goals) for the Golden Boot and put himself into second place on the all-time World Cup goalscorers list. France made it look easy, seemingly not even having to put in much effort against a far inferior opponent. Perhaps they’re just levels above the rest of the field—we’ll see them next in the Round of 16 against Paraguay.

France and Sweden walked onto the pitch in East Rutherford, New Jersey only to be greeted with a scorcher—88 degrees Fahrenheit by kickoff—as a massive heat wave begins to sweep across parts of the United States. French coach Didier Deschamps inserted Lucas Digne back into the starting lineup, Theo Hernandez once again sent to the bench. Bradley Barcola once again got the nod over Desire Doue in the French front four despite the latter scoring in their last match. Sweden opted for a 4-4-2 look, switching it up from their 3-back formations played throughout the group stage. Alexander Isak and Victor Gyökeres, a formidable strike partnership, would hope they could recapture their Matchday 1 form—combining for four goal contributions against Tunisia.

Sweden, however, would quickly learn that France are not Tunisia.

The first half was an onslaught of French attacks, each chance seeming to get more creative and threatening than the last. Digne warmed the crowd up with a long-range effort in the 16th minute, placed well towards the bottom-right corner, but perhaps one of the easiest saves Zetterström would make. Barcola went on an impressive solo run from near the halfway line, a nifty hesitation faking fullback Daniel Svensson out to create space for a shot—unfortunately skying the close-range attempt over the bar. Mbappe looked as if he’d scored in the 20th minute, but the assistant raised his flag for offside.

Zetterström would deny midfielder Adrien Rabiot near the half-hour mark, Mbappe neatly playing him in for a close-range shot that the Swedish keeper’s legs sent back. Two minutes later, Mbappe had a gaping net in front of him at the back post after Jules Kounde rolled the ball across from deep down the right flank. He’d hit the post, stunningly. Soon after, an errant Rabiot pass deflected into the air, falling for Michael Olise inside the edge of the Swedish effort—the FC Bayern star went for glory.

I can only imagine how loud my screams would’ve been if he scored.

After Zetterström forced a 45th minute corner by denying an Olise left-footer with his fingertips, France took it short. Ousmane Dembele rolled the ball into near side of the area for Mbappe, Swedish striker Gyökeres suddenly forced to defend him. Staring down the Arsenal man, the goal right behind him, the rest is history.

Sweden nearly caught the French napping on the ensuing kickoff, Anthony Elanga coming free down the right wing to slide the ball across the frame of goal—but his teammate Elliot Stroud would sky it high and wide from just yards out.

Whatever mental fortitude the Swedes had in the first half completely disappated in the second 45, unable to record another shot on goal until the 89th minute. France picked the defense apart in the second half, Olise rolling a pass through a Swede’s legs enroute to his first of two assists, Barcola cutting the ball onto his right and smashing it to the keeper’s left—2-0.

Gyökeres would grow visibly frustrated as the match progressed, upset with the physicality of French center backs Dayot Upamecano and William Saliba (his club teammate at Arsenal, fun fact).

Olise came close to a netting a goal of his own in the 71st minute after Mbappe dished it over to him on a break—unable to slide it under Zetterström’s legs. Olise set Mbappe up three minutes later for his brace as the striker went on a diagonal run towards goal from the left wing, taking the pass in stride and slotting the Trionda into the far corner.

The assist puts Olise on four for the tournament, only two behind the great Pele’s single-tournament record.

Mbappe came off in the 85th minute to a standing ovation, coach Didier Deschamps raising his arms up and down in a bowing motion as he walked towards the French bench. French keeper Mike Maignan would deny a late Gyökeres shot, there wasn’t any way he was letting a Swedish consolation goal happen. It was a picture-perfect outing for France, hardly even seeming to break a sweat amidst the New Jersey heat wave.

France look unbeatable. I’m just going to go out and say it. The front four of Mbappe, Olise, Dembele, and Barcola were fantastic, five goal contributions between them today. They ran around the Swedish defense like they were up against an U18 team, passing and shooting on them at will. There’s no much tactical analysis to be had from this outing, they simply cooked. Digne, back in the starting lineup, was solid at left back. Saliba and Upamecano locked down the striker pairing of Isak and Gyökeres with ease. Aurelien Tchouameni was a powerhouse in defensive midfield. Even Mike Maignan made a few saves, still yet to face a true test of an opponent. Jules Kounde made his way into the final third and deserves praise. France will face Paraguay next—surely they can smash them as well.

Sweden were quite frankly horrible today, outside of the sporadic Anthony Elanga run down the right wing in the first half. Isak and Gyökeres were invisible—completely negated by the French backline. The only Swede worth giving praise to is keeper Jacob Zetterström, who made nine saves and kept the final scoreline from being a helluva lot more embarrassing for his country. It seemed at times as if he had a personal vendetta towards Michael Olise, a third of his saves coming against him. As I expected, they bow out of the World Cup following a thorough French whooping. Sayonara, Sweden.

Kylian Mbappe continued to look undeniable at the World Cup today, making the Swedish defense look like amateurs. If you aren’t a fan of his yet—tune into the next France fixture and he’ll surely change your mind.

Michael Olise’s bicycle kick near miss, we were one lucky bounce off the post away from an all-time World Cup goal. Unlucky for Olise to not net a goal today, he was brilliant—at least he got a pair of assists.

As a reminder, the match card reflects my thoughts on the entire fixture as a whole—and is comprised of the following:

Man of the Match: The man of the match will be awarded card’s player face/headshot

Aura (AURA): How much “aura” or unique atmosphere/feel that the match had

Goals (GOL): A rating of the game’s quality of goals

Entertainment (ENMT): Was the game engaging, lively, memorable?

Memes (LOL): Did the game have any funny/memeable moments?

Rewatchability (RWD): Would I watch this match again—is it worth doing so?

Emotional Investment (EMO): A rating based on how attached I was, or became, to the match

🫡 -E$