The French team confirmed its place in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup after beating Sweden 3-0, in a match in which Kylian Mbappé was once again the figure by scoring a double that brings him closer and closer to Lionel Messi among the top scorers in the history of the World Cups.

The Real Madrid forward reached 18 goals in World Cups, after adding six goals in the current edition of the tournament, the same figure with which he shares the scoring lead in the 2026 World Cup along with Messi. In the historical classification, the Frenchman is only one goal behind the Argentine captain, who leads the list with 19.

Mbappé, who will turn 28 on December 20, has played in three World Cups: Russia 2018, Qatar 2022 and the 2026 edition. Before the current tournament he accumulated 12 goals and, with the six he has registered so far, he reached 18 World Cup goals.

For his part, Lionel Messi, 39, has participated in six editions of the World Cup: Germany 2006, South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018, Qatar 2022 - where he won the title with Argentina - and the 2026 World Cup.

Mbappé sets a new record in elimination matches

In addition to approaching the top of all-time scorers, Kylian Mbappé wrote another notable chapter in the history of the World Cup.

The French attacker opened the scoring against Sweden with a brilliant individual action inside the area to reach nine goals in direct elimination matches and surpass the eight shared by Brazilians Leônidas da Silva and Ronaldo Luiz Nazário de Lima.

However, the forward appeared again during the match to score his double and raise his record to 10 goals in elimination phases, a figure never before achieved by another footballer in the history of the World Cups.

With this, Mbappé has 10 goals in just nine knockout games, an average of more than one goal per game.

Detrás del frances appear Pelé, Vavá, Just Fontaine and Oldřich Nejedlý, con siete goles; Eusébio, György Sárosi, Gary Lineker and Roberto Baggio, con seis; while Silvio Piola, Gyula Zsengellér, Helmut Rahn, Thomas Müller, Zinedine Zidane, Wesley Sneijder, Miroslav Klose and Lionel Messi registered cinco.

The decisive match specialist

Kylian Mbappé's dominance in the elimination rounds is also reflected when comparing him with other leaders in world football.

Lionel Messi has scored five goals in 12 elimination matches for Argentina in World Cups, while Cristiano Ronaldo has never managed to score in this type of match after playing eight with Portugal. The Frenchman has already accumulated 10 goals in only nine games in this instance.

Mbappé's ability to respond in the most important moments has been constant since his World Cup debut.

In Russia 2018, a tournament in which France won the championship, he scored two goals against Argentina in the round of 16 and one more in the final against Croatia.

In Qatar 2022 he was once again decisive by scoring a double against Poland in the round of 16 and a hat-trick against Argentina in the final, although the title ended up in the hands of the Albiceleste after the penalty shootout.

Now, in the 2026 World Cup, he responded again with a double against Sweden to extend a record that already belongs to him alone.

A celebration dedicated to Didier Deschamps

Kylian Mbappé's first goal had a special meaning. After opening the scoring, the striker ran directly to the bench to hug coach Didier Deschamps, who a few days ago lost his mother and had to temporarily leave the France camp to attend the funeral.

The rest of the French footballers joined in the emotional hug with the coach, starring in one of the most significant images of the day.

Mbappé continues to get closer and closer to Messi

In addition to setting a new record in the elimination rounds, Kylian Mbappé reached 18 goals in the history of the World Cups, a product of the 12 he accumulated between Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, in addition to the six he added in the 2026 World Cup.

The French attacker was just one goal behind Lionel Messi, the World Cup's all-time top scorer with 19 goals. Meanwhile, both share the scoring leadership of this edition with six goals, keeping alive one of the great statistical rivalries of the tournament.