Hot Mbappe fires France Round of 16
KYLIAN Mbappe celebrates after scoring a goal that gave France a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast in the Round of 32 of the FIFA World Cup on Tuesday.
Daily TribuneKYLIAN Mbappe celebrates after scoring a goal that gave France a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast in the Round of 32 of the FIFA World Cup on Tuesday.
Photo by Angela Weiss/Agence France-Presse
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Kylian Mbappe extended his red-hot scoring streak to fire France past Sweden and into the Last 16 of the World Cup on Tuesday as Erling Haaland sealed Norway’s first ever knockout round victory in a 2-1 defeat of Ivory Coast.
Mbappe took his tally for the tournament to six goals — making him joint top-scorer alongside Lionel Messi — with a superb double as France strolled past the Swedes 3-0 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The prolific French striker’s latest brace took his career World Cup goals record to an incredible 18 in 18 matches, one behind Argentina superstar Messi’s all-time record of 19 goals.
Bradley Barcola scored France’s other goal as Les Bleus produced another dazzling exhibition of attacking football that underscored their status as favorites for the title.
Sweden manager Graham Potter had warned beforehand that his team would have to produce the game of their lives to have a chance of containing France’s multi-pronged offensive arsenal.
But after France were held at bay for most of the opening 45 minutes, Mbappe finally broke the Scandinavians’ resistance on the stroke of halftime, jinking into space before rifling home.
Barcola made it 2-0 in 53 minutes before Mbappe added a second in the 74th minute to seal a victory that sent France into a last 16 duel with Paraguay in Philadelphia on Saturday.
“I know who I am and what I’ve got to do, but it’s not just me, I think the team is perfectly aware of what we have to do here,” Mbappe told French broadcaster beIN Sports.
Earlier Tuesday, in-form Manchester City striker Haaland fired Norway to their first ever World Cup knockout win in a 2-1 defeat of Ivory Coast at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Haaland swept in an 86th-minute winner to slam the door on Ivory Coast’s hopes of a fightback after Amad Diallo had equalized for the Africans following Antonio Nusa’s opener for Norway.
The Norwegians — beaten in both of their previous opening knockout round appearances in 1938 and 1998 — will face Brazil in the Last 16 on Sunday with a place in the quarterfinals up for grabs.