Mbappé scores twice as France rolls through Sweden into the Round of 16

By Kyle Feldscher, Hannah Keyser, CNN

(CNN) — France is through to the Round of 16 after blowing away Sweden, 3-0, with star man Kylian Mbappé scoring twice to ease passage to the next phase.

Les Bleus, looking for their third-consecutive World Cup final, looked every bit the favorite as they advanced to the Round of 16 with a 3-0 victory over Sweden. And even that score undersells how one-sided the match felt at times as Mbappé, Michael Olise, and company put on a clinic of sophisticated soccer.

Initially, both teams looked to be treading carefully, wary of a misstep now in the knockout stage. Sweden, especially, seemed content to play conservatively, which forced France to take mediocre shots in the early going. Fans, perhaps impatient for something to justify sitting through the sweltering 90-degree heat, started doing the wave around the 18-minute mark.

Finally some excitement came the 20-minute mark as Mbappé broke away for what looked to be the first goal of the game. But he was called offside before the celebration could really get underway. A review shown on the Jumbotron revealed just about a shoulder’s width separated him from being onside – and staking France to their first lead.

Despite the “Extreme Heat Warning,” fans still booed the first hydration break – although that didn’t stop some segments of the crowd from singing along to “Livin’ on a Prayer.” (Suggested lyrical update: “Whoa, we’re a quarter of the way there.”) Sprinklers started spraying on the field just before the game got underway again and some players deliberately dosed themselves, a solid strategy considering the conditions.

Les Bleus returned to play looking refreshed — practically pelting the Swedish goal with attempts, and yet somehow nothing went in.

A few minutes later, 24-year-old Olise made a bicycle kick attempt that would have been the goal of the tournament so far except that it, too, found the post and not the net.

Olise got another attempt right around 45 minutes that was deftly stopped by Sweden’s heavily tested keeper. But on the resulting corner kick, France gets the ball to Mbappé who deftly weaved between defenders for the first goal of the game.

Les Bleus took a hard-won 1-0 lead into halftime as Mbappé made a beeline to celebrate with his coach, Didier Deschamps, who had just returned to the team after a brief absence for his mother’s funeral.

The Frenchmen returned to the field for the second half looking confident, cohesive, and like they were having fun. Olise snaked an assist through the legs of the defender to 23-year-old Bradley Barcola for a goal at 53 minutes that felt like it put the game effectively out of reach for a Swedish squad still struggling to find any momentum.

But why not one more anyway? France took the chance for Mbappé and Olise to demonstrate what’s awaiting any worthy challengers with Olise’s fancy footwork and thread-the-needle pass setting Mbappé up for his second goal of the night, sixth of the summer, and 18th in the tournament all time.

From there it was academic as the French saw out the rest of the match.

They’ll play next in Philadelphia on Saturday against Paraguay.

Haaland’s late winner sends Norway through, 2-1

Erling Haaland’s late goal was enough to see Norway through to the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, eliminating the Ivory Coast in a thrilling 2-1 match at Dallas Stadium.

The Norwegians opened the scoring in the first half before Les Éléphants equalized with one of the great goals scored so far in this tournament, but it was Haaland who seized the moment with the crucial final goal.

After long periods in their own half to start the match, Norway broke the deadlock with a strike from Antonio Nusa that curled into the far corner. The 39th-minute goal was against the run of play as the Norwegians had largely been chasing the game for most of the opening half hour before starting to come into the match more just before Nusa’s effort.

Minutes later, Haaland nearly doubled the Norwegian advantage on a close-range shot that was blocked, resulting in a corner that the imposing striker just failed to get on the end of.

Norway took the 1-0 lead into halftime, having carried much of the play following the goal and feeling on top of the game.

The second half began wide open, with both teams having great opportunities to score next. The best opportunity came on another Norwegian corner kick when Torbjørn Heggem’s close-range shot looked destined for the back of the net before being blocked off the line by Ivory Coast midfielder Amad Diallo.

At the second-half hydration break, the Norwegians made some defensive-minded subs to try to see the game out. It didn’t quite work out as the Ivory Coast equalized only minutes later through a mazy run and class finish by Diallo.

The Manchester United player ran a quick give-and-go with Nicolas Pépé, taking the short return pass and then dribbling through the Norwegian defense. Diallo took a left-footed shot that slammed into the turf and popped up over Ørjan Nyland and into the back of the net.

But in the final minutes, it was once again the seemingly inevitable Haaland goal that put Norway ahead.

The move came down the Norwegian right, as Patrick Berg was fed in with an exquisite through ball. Berg crossed into the middle of the box to Haaland, who had an open net to shoot at. He took a soft touch – it almost appeared to be an attempt to control the ball that got away from him – and the ball scooted over the line to give Norway a 2-1 lead in the 86th minute.

Haaland now has five goals scored at this tournament.

The Ivory Coast had late opportunities, putting pressure on Norway as they tried to force 30 minutes of extra time, including an incredible save by Nyland off a Diallo free kick in the final minutes.

Norway goes on to play five-time World Cup champion Brazil on July 5.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.