2026 World Cup: Mbappe Takes France Into Last 16, Mexico Knock Out Ecuador

Kylian Mbappe became the highest goalscorer in World Cup knockout history after scoring twice in France’s commanding 3-0 win over Sweden to book a last-16 meeting with Paraguay.

The France captain took his tally to 10 goals in World Cup knockout matches, surpassing the previous record, and also moved level with Argentina’s Lionel Messi on six goals in the race for the tournament’s Golden Boot.

Despite sweltering conditions in New Jersey, France dominated from the outset. Mbappe thought he had opened the scoring after 20 minutes but was ruled offside before striking the post moments later from Jules Kounde’s low cross. Michael Olise then rattled the upright with an acrobatic effort, while Ousmane Dembele fired the rebound wide.

Sweden goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom kept his side in the game with a series of fine saves, but he was finally beaten on the stroke of half-time. Mbappe collected Dembele’s perfectly weighted pass, skipped past Viktor Gyokeres with a clever stepover and calmly found the far corner.

Sweden missed a golden chance to respond immediately after the restart when Elliot Stroud blazed over from close range. France punished that miss eight minutes into the second half as Bradley Barcola raced onto an Olise pass and drilled home at the near post.

Dembele and Olise were both denied by Widell Zetterstrom before Mbappe wrapped up the win in the 74th minute, curling another precise finish beyond the Swedish goalkeeper after being picked out by Olise.

Gyokeres almost grabbed a late consolation for Sweden but was denied by France goalkeeper Mike Maignan. France will now face Paraguay, who knocked out Germany on penalties, in Philadelphia on Saturday.

Mexico beat Ecuador to reach the 2026 World Cup last 16

Mexico secured a comfortable place in the World Cup last 16 with a 2-0 win over Ecuador in a weather-delayed match at the Azteca Stadium.

The co-hosts raced into a two-goal lead through Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez before producing a disciplined second-half display to seal their first World Cup knockout win since 1986.

Kick-off was delayed by an hour because of a thunderstorm in Mexico City, but the interruption did little to slow the hosts. Backed by a lively home crowd, Mexico created four chances inside the opening 10 minutes and quickly took control of the game.

Although John Yeboah struck the woodwork for Ecuador, the visitors struggled to cope with Mexico’s intensity. Quinones broke the deadlock with a powerful finish into the roof of the net after cutting inside from the left, scoring his third goal of the tournament.

Quinones then turned provider as Jimenez capitalised on a costly mistake by Ecuador defender Joel Ordonez, firing into the top corner to double Mexico’s advantage before the break.

Ecuador improved after half-time but rarely threatened a comeback, with Gonzalo Plata’s effort drifting wide their closest opportunity.

Their disappointing evening ended on a sour note in stoppage time when Piero Hincapie was sent off for covering his mouth while speaking to an opponent. He became only the second player at this tournament to receive a red card for that offence after Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron.

Mexico will remain in Mexico City for their last-16 tie, where they will face either England or DR Congo on Sunday.