France scored two more memorable goals on their way to the Round of 16 against Sweden (3-0) with Kylian Mbappe’s brilliance showing. The French forward registered two goals in New Jersey, making him the top goal scorer in FIFA World Cup knockout games with 10 goals, upstaging Ronaldo, the top scorer in Brazil’s knockout games. His latest masterclass also sees him level with Lionel Messi on six goals to lead the Golden Boot race, further indicating him as one of the biggest names on the field this tournament.
France took all three group games to the knockout stage and they didn’t delay in proving that they are one of the big favourites to rake in the trophies. Despite the pounding beat, Didier Deschamps’s men had on their own much more control, and made their way through the thickets in hauling in many passes and loading the defence with speed and movement which Sweden should have been controlling. Mbappe played nearly perfectly alongside Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola who were brilliant together.Sweden had little recovery time as the combination of Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola got to the ball and did it brilliantly with Mbappe.
The first phase was fully French. Mbappe was hopeful of putting his side ahead but the flag of his assistant referee led to the move being played offside. Jules Kounde was quickly followed by a high-risk low cross into the area but Mbappe hit the post with the goal in his pocket. France maintained the pressure while Michael Olise broke free and was within inches of bringing the ball home with an amazing scissor-kick that went up on the tall.
However, Sweden keeper Jacob Zetterstrom (Widell) made a number of good saves to keep his side in the game. France looked for the breakthrough, finding no one better than Dembele and Olise, who he denied more than once. The opposition did finally taste defeat about half-way through, though, when Dembele got a fine cross to Mbappe. The skipper unhurriedly had Viktor Gyokeres sent wide with a deft stepover, then calmly laid a controlled finish into the far corner, giving France the lead which it well deserved.
In the best of luck for Sweden, they got the shot after the restart and Elliot Stroud missed a shot from practically point-blank range, but the ball had helped him out. The missed opportunity costed dearly as France then completely dominated the contest. After an excellent through ball from Olise, Bradley Barcola doubled the lead after eight minutes of the second half, netting a long-range strike into the near post.
France had the ball a lot and made fantastic chances by the underhand side of the area. In what was another of Dembele’s famous skills, he danced around into the back of the net, forcing another superb save from Widell Zetterstrom, while Olise saw a 1v1 save denied with another slick attack for Dembele’s side. France just couldn’t be stopped as they methodically went around the Swedish defence, hitting with Mbappe, Dembele and Olise in constant pressure.
Mbappe kicked his sensational evening off in the 74th minute. Again, the delivery from Olise was just right to crack the Swedish defence as Mbappe turned into a perfectly-weighted position for a fine finish over the blind side of the keeper. Apart from helping France win the game, it meant Mbappe was a top 10 scorer in the World Cup knockout era. This was another outstanding achievement by the Real Madrid attacker and he’s resetting the football world’s record, one goal at a time.
Yet, Olise was as much of a catalyst in the game as he was to walk away with the Player of the Match accolade which was fittingly bestowed upon him following two assists and setting up a number of opportunities throughout the contest. The alliance with Mbappe is still in its prime and Barcola and Dembele supplied the pace, creativity and intelligent movement, which enabled France to make the attack almost impossible to handle.
France were also solid and disciplined on the far end of the park. Mike Maignan was the only man between the posts on the rebound as Viktor Gyokeres sailed wide with just time on the clock, although he denied Maidens’ goalkeeper. For much of the evening, the French defence seemed no cause for concern, and handled the retreating Swedish attacks most of the time.
With the win, France have retained their unbeaten World Cup run that’s now extended to four matches and boosted their lead as one of the tournament’s top favourites. Not only have they added attacking football of a very high standard but their understanding between the trio of Mbappe, Olise and Dembele, as well as their correspondence with Barcola, is also getting better by the moment. Didier Deschamps’ team is one of the most well rounded in the tournament because it’s a pretty good mix of defenders and attackers.
This leaves France heading to Paraguay in the Round of 16 following a penalty shootout with the South American team dispatching Germany from last June’s competition. If Mbappe can keep going out here, France will be able to rest easy about their World Cup run. History is still being made by their captain, and as their team is improving match-by-match, Les Bleus could well be on track to take another World Cup.
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