Kylian Mbappé Eyes World Cup Glory Over Records
Kylian Mbappé is chasing history at this World Cup, but he is not chasing Lionel Messi.
Not yet, anyway.
The France captain struck twice in a ruthless 3-0 dismantling of Sweden in the round of 32 on Tuesday, moving to 18 World Cup goals in 18 games and pulling to within one of Messi’s all-time record of 19. He also joined the Argentine at the top of the scoring charts at this tournament with six.
The numbers are staggering. Mbappé knows it. He just does not want them to define his summer.
“The goal is to go as far as possible – to make it to July 19th and come back here,” he told reporters, fixing his sights on the final in New York rather than the record books. The message was clear: the trophy comes first, everything else is noise.
He did not pretend the chase means nothing. “Of course, the more goals you score, the higher you climb in the rankings – I’m not telling anyone anything new there.” But then he pivoted straight back to the collective. Messi, he pointed out, is likely to keep scoring as well. The Frenchman’s attention, he insisted, is locked on “the opponents we might face and how close we’re getting to our goal: the final.”
Messi’s Argentina now meet Cape Verde in the last 32 on Friday, a tie that should offer the 37-year-old room to add to his tally. France’s path looks trickier, starting with a Paraguay side in Philadelphia on Saturday that has already ripped up one script.
Paraguay survived Germany and then knocked the four-time world champions out on penalties with an ultra-defensive game plan in the last 32. There is no suggestion they will suddenly open up for Mbappé and company.
Mbappé knows it. France, he said, will not stroll into the trap.
“I think we’ll keep working between now and the Paraguay match to see what we can improve, because there are still some sequences that aren't quite clear enough, there’s room for improvement,” he said. The performance against Sweden was “positive overall”, but he underlined what truly gives this France side its edge: “our ability to score goals means we always have the chance to take the lead in matches.”
That cutting edge has already carried them through one awkward stage. Now comes the phase of the tournament where giants are falling.
Belgium step out of the shadows – and straight into danger
Belgium know that story well. Four years ago in Qatar, a limp group-stage exit ended the glow of their 2018 bronze. This time, they have at least cleared that low bar.
A 5-1 demolition of New Zealand on Friday sealed top spot in Group G and delivered exactly what coach Rudi Garcia demanded: progress, and a bit of swagger restored. One win, two draws, unbeaten, group won. On paper, it looks steady rather than spectacular.
Garcia, speaking in French, sounded content but restless. The job, as he framed it, has only just begun. They have put 2022 behind them. Now the knockout rounds will decide whether this campaign is remembered as a reset or a farewell tour for a fading generation.
Standing in their way on Wednesday in Seattle is Senegal, third in Group I but hardened by one of the tournament’s most unforgiving pools, featuring France and Erling Haaland’s Norway. This is no soft landing.
“We know it will be a tough match,” Romelu Lukaku said in French. “Senegal has a lot of top-level players, and the coach is, too. I think it’s 50-50. We really shouldn’t underestimate them.”
Events elsewhere have already underlined that point. Germany, felled by Paraguay. The Netherlands, dumped out by Morocco. Two European heavyweights gone in a single night. Belgium have been warned.
“It doesn’t matter who the favorite is,” said forward Charles De Ketelaere. “We have confidence and need to be sharp. Yesterday showed that it doesn’t matter if you are the favorite.”
Senegal arrive with belief of their own. They just put five past Iraq without reply, Sadio Mané leading an attack that will fancy its chances of testing a Belgian defence that has conceded only twice in three games with Thibaut Courtois in goal.
The African champions, though, are patched up at the back. Édouard Mendy, injured in a 3-2 defeat to Norway in the group stage, has been ruled out for Wednesday by coach Pape Thiaw. Mory Diaw, who replaced him and kept a clean sheet against Iraq, is expected to start again.
“Mory had a great performance,” Thiaw said in French. “He kept a clean sheet and I think (as) the goalkeeper tomorrow, we hope that we’ll also come up with a clean sheet.”
Thiaw’s message to his players is simple: group standings mean nothing now. “It’s not because you finished top of your group that you’re not going to be knocked out in the next round,” he said, pointing straight at the Netherlands’ shock exit. “It’s another tournament starting. We are looking for the win tomorrow so that we can continue our journey.”
Belgium, at least, have one small boost. Center back Zeno Debast, yet to feature this World Cup due to a left leg injury, is back in full training after an MRI at the weekend and took part in sessions on Monday and Tuesday, his knee taped. Garcia, though, is not ready to rush him.
“Zeno Debast is with the group, but tomorrow is still too soon,” the coach said. “He is making progress, though. He still needs time to get fully fit, as was anticipated. I am very satisfied with the defenders we have already called upon.”
The golden generation – Kevin De Bruyne, Lukaku and the rest – are running out of tournaments. Senegal, with Mané on the charge and the scent of an upset in the air, will test just how much is left in those legs.
England walk the tightrope as USA brace for a defining night
All around them, the bracket is cracking. England have been watching.
Germany gone. The Netherlands gone. Both beaten on penalties by underdogs – Paraguay and Morocco – in a brutal round of 32. England face the Democratic Republic of Congo in Atlanta on Wednesday knowing they are the next big name on the conveyor belt. They are desperate not to be the next scalp.
The prize in front of them is huge: a place in the last 16 and another step towards ending a 60-year wait for a major trophy. The risk is equally clear. One bad night, one errant penalty, and it is over.
Thomas Tuchel is not pretending otherwise. “I feel it is a privilege to be in these situations,” the England coach said. “I think we can just accept it, we are the favorites (against DR Congo).” Then came the warning. “The games so far in round of 32 speak a very clear language. It’s narrow, narrow margins.”
He will lean heavily on Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, his two world-class pillars. The absence of Reece James through injury strips away some thrust and control on the right, but the expectation remains the same: England must impose themselves.
DR Congo will not be overawed. Their squad is a global patchwork stitched together from diaspora talent, many of them forged in European academies. Of the 26-man group, 20 were born outside the country, most in France. Yoane Wissa is a familiar face to the English back line from his Premier League exploits. Aaron Wan-Bissaka was born in London and played for England up to under-21 level. Axel Tuanzebe also came through the England youth system.
Their coach, Sébastien Desabre, knows the pressure is not on his side. “Our World Cup is already a success relative to our goals,” the Frenchman said. “The pressure is on the England team.” That freedom can be dangerous. England have seen enough upsets already this week to know that a team with nothing to lose can be the most awkward opponent of all.
Across the Atlantic, the United States are preparing for a different kind of test – not just sporting, but cultural.
USA feel the weight of a nation’s gaze
In a crowded American sports landscape, football has been steadily climbing. Wednesday’s knockout tie against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the San Francisco Bay Area could shove it into a new orbit.
Up to 30 million viewers are expected to tune in for a primetime broadcast that could deliver the country’s first World Cup knockout victory in almost 25 years. The players are acutely aware of what is at stake beyond the scoreline.
“Everyone knows in the back of our minds what this could do for this country,” said midfielder Gio Reyna. The squad can feel the surge behind them. “We feel the country rallying around us. We see the momentum it’s bringing to the sport in this country, just through the group stage. But we also understand if we make a nice run in this tournament, what it could really do for the sport.”
Christian Pulisic and his teammates stand on a rare stage: a winnable knockout tie, in front of a vast home audience, with the chance to turn curiosity into commitment. Win, and the sport’s growth curve in the United States could steepen again.
Lose, and the wait for that signature moment stretches on.
Mbappé, Deschamps and a shared grief
Back on the pitch, France’s statement win over Sweden carried a more human undercurrent.
Mbappé’s two goals were the headline, but the image that lingered came after one of his strikes, when he and his teammates sprinted to the touchline to embrace Didier Deschamps. The France coach is still grieving the death of his mother this month. The players chose that moment – in the middle of a World Cup knockout tie – to show him they were with him.
“I think that reflects the spirit of this group – it’s part of our DNA. We are all together,” Mbappé told beIN Sports. “We know the coach has been through a difficult experience; unfortunately, everyone goes through that at some point and it’s very hard.”
On a night of cold statistics and hot finishing, that brief, emotional huddle said as much about France’s chances as any xG chart. Talent wins tournaments, but unity carries teams through the days when the legs are heavy and the margins, as Tuchel put it, are “narrow, narrow”.
Elsewhere, Erling Haaland finally dragged Norway into new territory. His close-range finish in a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast booked their place in the last 16 for the first time. Another superstar steps into the knockout glare, another storyline threads into an increasingly tangled World Cup narrative.
Records are being chased. Giants are falling. New contenders are emerging.
The question now is simple: who survives the chaos long enough to walk out in New York on July 19?
