NEW YORK, July 1 — Kylian Mbappe scored twice and Bradley Barcola added another as France beat Sweden 3-0 on Tuesday to advance to the World Cup round of 16.
Michael Olise set up all three goals as France dominated throughout but had to wait until the 45th minute to break the deadlock after twice striking the woodwork. “We could have been a bit more efficient in the first half,” France coach Didier Deschamps said. “We had them run a lot, and then obviously in the second half our opponents were a bit tired. Well done to my players to have done what they did on the pitch.” Deschamps was full of praise for Olise’s performance. “Michael is playing top-notch football,” the coach said. “He is the link between the defense and the strikers, and he helps out a lot in the middle as well.” France created the first opening in the 15th minute when left back Lucas Digne collected a loose ball from a corner and fired from distance, forcing a comfortable save from Sweden goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom. Barcola went close four minutes later, accelerating into the penalty area before lifting his shot just over the crossbar. Mbappe then had the ball in the net after being sent through by Olise, but the effort was ruled out for offside.
Sweden’s best first-half opportunity came from a well-worked free kick when Yasin Ayari slipped Alexander Isak into the area, but William Saliba recovered to block the shot. France continued to press and was twice denied by the post. Mbappe struck the inside of the upright in the 32nd minute before the rebound deflected safely into Zetterstrom’s hands. Moments later, Olise’s acrobatic bicycle kick also hit the post, and Ousmane Dembele fired the rebound over. France finally went ahead in the 45th minute. After a short-corner routine involving Dembele and Olise, Mbappe collected a through ball, skipped past the defense and drilled a low shot into the bottom-right corner. Sweden threatened before the break, but Elliot Stroud fired over from a promising position.
Barcola doubled France’s lead in the 53rd minute after Olise threaded a precise pass through the defense, allowing the forward to drive his finish inside the left post. Olise narrowly missed adding a goal of his own, first shooting wide in the 65th minute and then failing to beat Zetterstrom in a one-on-one six minutes later. Instead, he claimed his third assist in the 74th minute, sending Mbappe clear with another incisive through ball. The France captain finished confidently into the corner for his second goal of the match and his 18th in World Cup history, moving to within one of Lionel Messi’s record tournament total.
France will face Paraguay, which stunned Germany in a penalty shootout, in the round of 16 at Philadelphia Stadium. “We reached the round of 16, let’s appreciate that indeed,” Deschamps said. “I’ll slow down over the next 48 hours and then start again because we know what is expected of us with Paraguay facing us with a different type of quality. We want to appreciate the moment and then go full on.”
Sweden coach Graham Potter, while disappointed with the exit, acknowledged the gap in quality between the two sides. “I have no complaints to the players whatsoever,” Potter said. “I don’t think it’s a disgrace to lose to France. They were the better team and they’ve got some high-level players. For us, it’s about using this as a foundation to go forward and to be proud of what we’ve done so far.” “I personally haven’t seen a better team than France,” he added. “Anything is possible in football, but they have as good a chance as anybody. We wanted to go further, but we met a very, very, very good opponent tonight. Sometimes you just have to accept that.”
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