Mbappe Scores Twice as France Advances to Round of 16

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France, a strong contender for the title at the North and Central American World Cup, has defeated Sweden to advance to the Round of 16. Star player Kylian Mbappe added two goals, bringing his total to six in this tournament and tying him with Argentina's Lionel Messi for the lead in the Golden Boot race.

Reporter Seo Dae-won has the story.

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France dominated Sweden from the start but was plagued by bad luck in front of the goal.

In the 32nd minute of the first half, Mbappe's shot hit the goalpost, and in the 35th minute, Michael Olise's spectacular bicycle kick was also denied by the woodwork.

It would have been the best goal of the tournament had it gone in.

Mbappe changed the frustrating flow of the game in an instant.

In the 45th minute of the first half, Mbappe used brilliant individual skills to bypass the defense inside the penalty area and fired a right-footed shot to give France the lead.

With momentum on their side, France pulled further ahead with a goal from Bradley Barcola in the 8th minute of the second half, and Mbappe added another in the 29th minute of the second half, completing his third multi-goal game of the tournament.

Mbappe has now recorded six goals in the tournament, tying him for the lead with Argentina's Messi, who has yet to play his Round of 32 match. Mbappe's total World Cup career goals have risen to 18, putting him just one goal behind Messi.

France, which won the 2018 tournament in Russia and finished as runner-up in Qatar four years ago, cruised to a 3-0 victory over Sweden to reach the Round of 16, continuing their strong push to reclaim the championship for the first time in eight years.

France will face Paraguay, who defeated Germany to advance, for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, Norway defeated Ivory Coast 2-1 to reach the Round of 16.

Erling Haaland, who scored the winning goal in the 41st minute of the second half, reached five goals in the tournament, continuing his race for the top scorer title against Messi and Mbappe.

The Norwegian players, who enjoyed the moment by performing their signature Viking rowing celebration with fans, will challenge for their first-ever quarterfinal appearance against Brazil on July 6.

Video by Choi Hye-ran
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.