Fiery Mbappe helps France sweep aside Sweden to reach World Cup Round of 16

Kylian Mbappe put France ahead with a brilliant crossover step in the 45th minute and added a second-half goal to set a World Cup knockout round scoring record, and Les Bleus beat Sweden 3-0 to set up a round of 16 match against Paraguay.

Bradley Barcola added a 53rd-minute goal for France, and Mbappe capped the scoring in the 74th minute for his third two-goal game in four matches.

His six goals tied Argentina forward Lionel Messi for the tournament lead and gave him 18 in his World Cup career, one shy of Messi's record.

Mbappe's 10 knockout-round goals are two more than the previous high by Brazilian greats Leonidas and Ronaldo.

France coach Didier Deschamps bowed when his star came to the bench after he was substituted in the 85th minute.

Mesmerising football

Olise released Mbappe through the middle to put the ball in the net in the 20th minute, only for a tight offside call to cut short the celebrations.

However, that sparked an intense spell of French pressure which eventually resulted in the opening goal.

Some of their football was mesmerising, as Mbappe hit the post from a Jules Kounde ball across the face of goal and Adrien Rabiot fired narrowly over.

Olise then struck an upright with a breathtaking overhead bicycle kick before Dembele put the rebound wide.

Sweden needed the interval to regroup, but they conceded again eight minutes after the restart as the magical Olise threaded a pass through the legs of Gustaf Lagerbielke for Barcola, who lashed in.

Olise couldn't score when clean through, but soon after he delivered an exceptional assist for Mbappe to curl in again on 74 minutes.

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Source: TRT