2026 World Cup:France March into Round of 16 As Mbappé And Olise Shine Against Sweden
2 min read
By Sedara Philip
France underlined their status as one of the favourites for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with an impressive 3-0 victory over Sweden on Tuesday night, as captain Kylian Mbappé scored twice to lead Les Bleus into the Round of 16.
The French dominated proceedings from start to finish in the Round of 32 clash, producing a relentless attacking display that eventually overwhelmed Sweden and secured a meeting with Paraguay in the next round.
France looked dangerous from the opening whistle and believed they had taken the lead in the 21st minute when Mbappé found the back of the net. However, celebrations were cut short after the goal was ruled out for offside.
The setback did little to slow the French momentum as they continued to dictate possession and create clear-cut opportunities.
Mbappé came within inches of opening the scoring in the 32nd minute after latching onto a perfectly weighted pass inside the penalty area, but his close-range effort struck the left upright.
Just four minutes later, Michael Olise almost produced a moment of brilliance, unleashing a thunderous volley from outside the area that crashed against the right post. The rebound fell kindly to Ousmane Dembélé, but the winger was unable to convert from close range.
France finally earned the breakthrough deep into first-half stoppage time. Following a corner kick, the ball ricocheted inside the penalty area before falling invitingly for Mbappé, who reacted quickest to fire a powerful finish inside the right post and hand his side a deserved 1-0 lead at the interval.
Les Bleus maintained their dominance after the restart and doubled their advantage in the 53rd minute.
Michael Olise, who orchestrated much of France’s attacking play, slipped an intelligent pass into the path of Bradley Barcola, and the forward responded with a superb curling finish into the top-left corner beyond goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterström.
Olise continued to torment the Swedish defence and nearly added his name to the scoresheet just after the hour mark, but Zetterström produced an outstanding save to deny the Crystal Palace playmaker from the edge of the area.
Sedara Philip is a Sports writer, an administrator,Journalist,and editor
