After France’s 3-0 win over Sweden on Tuesday, June 30, which secured their place in the Round of 16, team captain Kylian Mbappe corrected a reporter’s mistake about his World Cup goal tally.
Mbappe scored twice in the match, breaking his scoring drought from the 4-1 win against Norway. He opened the scoring just before half-time and added another after Bradley Barcola increased France’s lead early in the second half.
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Across three World Cup editions, Mbappe has netted 18 goals. He scored four goals during France’s victorious campaign in Russia 2018 and eight goals in Qatar four years later, where they lost to Argentina on penalties in the final. He is currently second only to Lionel Messi’s 19 goals, with Miroslav Klose’s previous record of 16 goals now in third place.
When a reporter mistakenly said Mbappe had 17 World Cup goals, the French captain corrected him, saying (translated from French):
“18, it’s 18. I’m happy, but that’s not the most important thing,” he said (via DAZN Football).
“We continued to do things well. We won. This match is important. As we said, it’s a new competition that begins. We are very happy. Now we have to focus on Paraguay. There’s another game to win.”
France will face Paraguay in the Round of 16 after the latter’s victory over Germany. Paraguay won on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time, marking Germany’s first-ever shootout loss in World Cup history.
Where does Kylian Mbappe stand in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot race after brace against Sweden?
Kylian Mbappe has scored six times in the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America. He began with a brace in the 3-1 opening win over Senegal and added two more goals in a 3-0 victory against Iraq.
Despite hitting the woodwork within 25 seconds, Mbappe did not score in the 4-1 win over Norway, which helped Didier Deschamps’ team secure the top spot in their group.
Mbappe’s two goals against Sweden brought him level with Golden Boot leader Lionel Messi, who also scored six goals during the group stage. Erling Haaland of Norway is second with five goals, followed by Ousmane Dembele and Vinicius Junior with four each.
Edited by Bhargav
