With his fifth and sixth goals of the tournament, Mbappe is level with Messi in the Golden Boot race.
Published July 1, 2026
Kylian Mbappé and Didier Deschamps reached another FIFA World Cup milestone as the captain and coach guided France to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Sweden at East Rutherford and a deserved place in the last 16.
Mbappe took the lead in the 45th minute on Tuesday by cutting in from the left and firing a powerful shot inside the far post. Eight minutes into the second half, Michael Oliseh turned provider, passing the ball to Bradley Barcola, who fired a shot into the top corner to cut the lead to two points.
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The French captain sealed the win in the 74th minute, beating another sharp Oliseh pass, beating the offside trap and scoring his first goal past the goalkeeper.
Mbappe currently leads the league with 10 goals in World Cup finals, ahead of Brazilian duo Leonidas and Ronaldo, who each scored eight goals.
These were the Frenchman’s fifth and sixth goals of the tournament, leveling him with 39-year-old Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.
It was Mbappé’s 18th goal in 18 World Cup games, moving him just one point shy of Lionel Messi’s all-time scoring record, which he achieved in Argentina’s win over Austria last week.
The two captains have broken each other’s records throughout the tournament. Mbappe topped the charts with two goals that helped France beat Senegal 3-1 in the opening game, taking his tally of World Cup goals at the time to 15, while Messi had 13.
The Argentine icon scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win against Algeria in North America earlier this month, equaling Miroslav Klose’s 16th World Cup goal and kicking off South America’s title defense.
Deschamps, 57, took his win tally to 18 with Tuesday’s victory, extending his record for most World Cup wins as a manager. Although he was absent as he returned to France for his mother’s funeral, he surpassed Helmut Schoen’s record of 17, set in France’s humiliating 4-1 win over Norway last week.
His team will next play Paraguay in Philadelphia on Saturday, following Monday’s 1-1 draw in Foxborough, which shocked four-time champions Germany in a penalty shootout.
