Mbappe Brace Fires France Past Sweden, Sets Up Paraguay Showdown

France delivered another emphatic statement of intent at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as captain Kylian Mbappé scored twice and Michael Olise produced a masterclass in creativity to inspire a commanding 3-0 victory over Sweden, sealing a place in the round of 16 against Paraguay.

Backed by a crowd of 80,663 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Les Bleus completely outclassed their Scandinavian opponents, dominating possession, creating a flurry of chances and never allowing Sweden to gain any meaningful foothold in the contest.

Mbappé finally broke the deadlock just before half-time after France had twice rattled the woodwork through the striker himself and Olise.

The French maintained the pressure after the restart, with Olise threading a superb pass to Bradley Barcola, who blasted home France’s second goal in the 53rd minute.

Olise crowned a dazzling display by setting up Mbappé again in the 74th minute, with the France captain curling home his second of the night to complete a convincing victory.

The brace moved Mbappé level with Lionel Messi on six goals in the race for the tournament’s Golden Boot. It also took his overall World Cup tally to 18 goals, leaving the 27-year-old just one strike behind Messi’s record of 19.

Mbappé marked his opening goal with an emotional celebration, running to embrace coach Didier Deschamps, who recently returned after briefly leaving the team’s camp following the death of his mother.

Deschamps, who will step down after the tournament following 14 successful years in charge, remains on course for a memorable farewell. The former France captain lifted the World Cup as a player in 1998 before guiding the nation to another title in 2018.

France’s next opponents, Paraguay national football team, evoke memories of that 1998 triumph, when France edged Paraguay 1-0 in extra time in the round of 16 through Laurent Blanc’s famous golden goal. The two sides will meet again on Saturday in Philadelphia for a place in the quarter-finals.

Olise was the heartbeat of France’s attack throughout, while Ousmane Dembélé constantly troubled Sweden’s defence with his pace and trickery.

Sweden, despite boasting Premier League stars Viktor Gyökeres, Alexander Isak and Anthony Elanga, struggled to create opportunities as France’s relentless control denied them space and possession.

The warning signs had come early when Mbappé had a goal ruled out for offside after being played through by Olise in the 20th minute. France continued to pile on the pressure, with Mbappé striking the post, Adrien Rabiot firing narrowly over and Olise producing an acrobatic overhead kick that crashed against the upright before Dembélé squandered the rebound.

The breakthrough eventually arrived on the stroke of half-time after Jacob Widell Zetterström tipped away an Olise effort. France worked the resulting corner brilliantly, allowing Dembélé and Olise to combine before Mbappé swept home.

France resumed with the same intensity after the break. Just eight minutes into the second half, Olise split Sweden’s defence with a perfectly weighted pass through the legs of Gustaf Lagerbielke for Barcola to finish emphatically.

Although Olise missed a chance to get on the scoresheet himself, he quickly made amends by delivering another exquisite assist for Mbappé to curl home France’s third and seal an impressive win.

Having brushed aside Sweden with authority, France now head into the knockout stages looking every inch one of the favourites to lift the World Cup trophy, while Paraguay face the daunting task of trying to halt Mbappé and his free-flowing teammates.

German Media React After World Cup Humiliation, Call Team ‘Slow, Boring, Lethargic’

Germany’s shock World Cup exit at the hands of Paraguay has unleashed a wave of outrage across the country’s media, with newspapers delivering scathing verdicts on Julian Nagelsmann’s side and describing the elimination as another dark chapter in the nation’s football decline.

The four-time world champions crashed out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the round of 16, extending a dismal run that has seen Germany fail to progress beyond the last 16 in each of the past three tournaments. They have also not won a World Cup knockout match since lifting the trophy in Rio de Janeiro in 2014.

Nagelsmann, who at 38 became the youngest coach to lead a team in a World Cup knockout match in 40 years, had opted for an attack-minded line-up by handing tournament top scorer Deniz Undav his first start.

Germany believed they had snatched a dramatic winner in the 102nd minute when Jonathan Tah headed home from a corner, only for the goal to be ruled out after a lengthy VAR review for a foul on the goalkeeper.

The match eventually went to penalties, where Germany’s campaign unravelled completely as Kai Havertz, Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Tah all failed to convert, allowing Paraguay’s Jose Canale to seal a famous victory.

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The country’s biggest-selling newspaper, Bild, described the display as a “disastrous performance,” saying Nagelsmann’s side produced “a truly awful performance for much of the game. Slow. Boring. Lethargic. It’s another German football nightmare.”

Die Zeit blamed Germany’s defeat on a “lack of imagination,” arguing that the team had lost all sense of its former greatness. Columnist Christian Spiller said the problems reflected the broader decline of German football beyond the dominance of Bayern Munich.

For Süddeutsche Zeitung, the latest elimination was even more humiliating than Germany’s group-stage exit at the 2022 World Cup, insisting that, unlike in Qatar, there were no excuses this time because the team simply failed to find solutions when it mattered most.

Meanwhile, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung questioned whether Nagelsmann could continue in charge, describing his relationship with the national team as “beyond saving.”

Despite the widespread criticism, some observers felt Germany were hard done by over the controversial VAR decision that ruled out Tah’s extra-time goal.

Former Jürgen Klopp, working as a television pundit during the tournament, argued that similar goals had been routinely allowed in the Premier League.

“If the goal is illegal, then Arsenal won’t be English champions,” Klopp told MagentaTV. “They’ve scored 60 per cent of their goals that way. We win the game when the ball goes in. So, of course, this is brutal.”

German Media React After World Cup Humiliation, Call Team ‘Slow, Boring, Lethargic’

Morocco Knock Out Netherlands After Dramatic Penalty Shootout

Morocco produced a dramatic late comeback before defeating the Netherlands 3-2 on penalties to book their place in the last 16 of the 2026 World Cup after a gripping 1-1 draw that stretched into extra time in Monterrey on Monday.

Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou emerged as Morocco’s hero, saving Crysencio Summerville’s decisive spot-kick before Ismael Saibari calmly converted the winning penalty to seal the Atlas Lions’ place in the knockout stage, where they will face Canada in Houston on Saturday.

The North Africans looked destined for elimination after Cody Gakpo gave the Dutch the lead midway through the second half, but Morocco snatched a dramatic equaliser in the first minute of stoppage time when Issa Diop rose unmarked to head home Chemsdine Talbi’s inviting cross.

The match then went into extra time, with both sides creating opportunities, but neither could find the breakthrough, leaving penalties to decide the contest.

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Morocco had been the more threatening side for much of the game. Neil El Aynaoui came close to opening the scoring in the first half, only for Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to produce an excellent reflex save from his header. Verbruggen was called into action again moments later, tipping Achraf Hakimi’s powerful effort over the crossbar.

The fiercely contested encounter featured several crunching tackles, testing the patience of Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio. Saibari was fortunate to escape punishment after catching Jan Paul van Hecke with an elbow, while Van Hecke later required treatment after suffering a head injury in a collision.

The Netherlands dominated possession but struggled to create clear-cut chances. Their best first-half opportunity came through Micky van de Ven, whose thunderous long-range strike was brilliantly pushed over by Bounou.

The Dutch finally broke the deadlock after coach Ronald Koeman introduced Wout Weghorst following the second-half hydration break. The towering striker flicked on a long pass to Summerville, who squared for Gakpo to dive in and score. The Liverpool forward, who recently suffered the heartbreaking loss of his unborn child, was visibly emotional as teammates gathered around him in celebration.

With Virgil van Dijk marshalling the Dutch defence, the Netherlands appeared to be heading for victory until Diop’s stoppage-time header forced extra time.

Morocco almost completed the turnaround in the 96th minute, but Verbruggen produced another outstanding save to deny Soufiane Rahimi in a one-on-one situation.

The drama continued in the penalty shootout. Although Morocco missed their opening kick when El Aynaoui struck the crossbar, they recovered impressively. Bounou’s decisive save from Summerville handed Saibari the chance to win it, and the midfielder made no mistake, firing home to send Morocco into the last 16.

Morocco Knock Out Netherlands After Dramatic Penalty Shootout