Kylian Mbappe scored the 17th and 18th World Cup goals of his career in France's 3-0 win over Sweden to move to within one of Lionel Messi's all-time record.
Mbappe opened his account after the impressive Michael Olise combined with Ousmane Dembele at a short corner to feed Mbappe, who fired home on the stroke of half-time from the edge of the box.
Bradley Barcola doubled the advantage eight minutes after the break, finishing past Widell Zetterstrom on the break after running onto Olise's slick through ball that passed through a Swedish defender's leg.
Real Madrid striker Mbappe then sealed victory in the 74th minute, running onto yet another slicing ball from Olise through the left side of the penalty area before scoring a strike similar to his first.
The 27-year-old star for the two-time World Cup winners is visibly embracing this tournament.
After scoring his first goal, he raced to the sideline and hugged manager Didier Deschamps, who had recently returned to the team after missing the group finale due to the death of his mother.
And when he was summoned off the pitch in the 85th minute to a standing ovation, he raised both arms and spun around to the whole stadium in a wave of appreciation.
"I did say that I wanted to enjoy this World Cup to the fullest," Mbappe said.
"I'm not saying that the other World Cup[s] I did not enjoy, but I was younger. I was focused then in delivering the best performances.
"And today, I believe I can do both: delivering great performances and obviously enjoying [it]."
Best photos of the 2026 World Cup - in pictures
-
US President Donald Trump and Fifa president Gianni Infantino alongside the 2026 World Cup champions: Spain. Reuters -
Ferran Torres scores Spain's first goal past Argentina's Emiliano Martinez in the 106th minute of extra time at the World Cup final. Reuters -
Argentina's Lionel Messi after losing out to Spain in the final. Reuters -
England's players with their medals, after winning the third-place play-off against France in Miami. AFP -
French striker Kylian Mbappe challenges English defender Ezri Konsa at the Miami Stadium. AFP -
England forward Bukayo Saka, centre, celebrates after scoring his team's fifth goal. AFP -
Enzo Fernandez of Argentina celebrates scoring the equaliser against England at Atlanta Stadium. AFP -
Anthony Gordon scores the opening goal for England against Argentina. EPA -
Spain's players celebrate after beating France to reach the World Cup final. Reuters -
Spanish forward Lamine Yamal, left, is challenged by French defender Theo Hernandez in Arlington. AFP -
France forward Kylian Mbappe shows his disappointment during the semi-final defeat to Spain. AFP -
Mikel Merino celebrates scoring his team's second goal against Belgium in Inglewood. AFP -
Messi controls the ball against Switzerland's Granit Xhaka during the quarter-final match between Argentina and Switzerland in Kansas City. AFP -
Jude Bellingham celebrates after winning the quarter-final match between Norway and England in Miami. AFP -
France talisman Kylian Mbappe was on target in his team's 2-0 quarter-final victory over Morocco. EPA -
Gessime Yassine looks dejected after the match as Morocco's World Cup comes to an end. Reuters -
Fans in Buenos Aires celebrate Argentina's victory against Egypt. Getty Images -
Lionel Messi celebrates scoring his team's second goal against Egypt in Atlanta. AFP -
Gregor Kobel of Switzerland saves Cucho Hernandez's penalty for Colombia in the shoot-out in Vancouver. AFP -
Portugal's Bernardo Silva is left in disbelief after a missed chance against Spain, in Arlington. Reuters -
Cristiano Ronaldo is dejected after the match against Spain, as his Portugal team are eliminated from the World Cup. Reuters -
Belgium's Hans Vanaken scores their third goal past Matt Freese of the US, in Seattle. Reuters -
Belgium's Charles De Ketelaere scores their first goal against the US. Reuters -
Australian referee Alireza Faghani shows a red card to England defender Jarell Quansah against Mexico. AFP -
Erling Haaland scores his and Norway's second goal against Brazil. AFP
Mbappe moved within one goal of Messi on the all-time tournament list and, with his fifth and sixth goals of this year's tournament, pulled even with the 39-year-old in the Golden Boot chase.
Assuming France makes another deep run at the 2026 finals, Mbappe is on pace to shatter his total of eight in a single World Cup from 2022, when he helped Les Bleus to a runner-up finish against Messi's Argentina and scored the second hat-trick in a World Cup final.
He also scored four times during France's run to the 2018 World Cup title.
"Well, I'm happy, but it's not the most important [thing] today," Mbappe said of his brace against Sweden. "We continued delivering great performances."
Messi and Argentina face Cape Verde on Friday in Miami Gardens, Florida, in their Round-of-32 meeting.
Deschamps' side will next play on Saturday in Philadelphia against Paraguay, which shocked four-time champions Germany on penalties following a 1-1 draw on Monday.
"This game was important. It is a new competition starting [in the knockout phase], as we said earlier on," Mbappe said. "Now we have to focus on Paraguay. We have another game to win."
Sweden were eliminated following one of the more turbulent World Cup stays in recent memory, defeating Tunisia 5-1 and then losing to the Netherlands by the same score before drawing their group finale 1-1 against Japan to reach the knockout phase.
It was their first time advancing from a group in a major tournament since the 2020 European Championships. Sweden failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Euros.
"I thought, in terms of the game, we had to be perfect," said Sweden manager Graham Potter. "And even if we were, I'm not sure that would've been enough, if I'm being brutally honest. Because the opponent was of a high level."
App users: Click here to download the World Cup wall chart
